Not so in the Redgrave household – we have many a family meal together.

We do eat in front of the telly with trays on our laps several times a week, although usually as a family, but we have at least four to five evening meals together at the kitchen table.

Our dining room has not seen much use lately. It is currently covered in our eldest's study books, not to mention the floor being littered with school bags, jumble waiting to go to the charity shop and a pile of old magazines which need sorting. But at the moment I haven't the fortitude to tackle the mess. I'm sure I'll get around to it in time for us to eat our Christmas lunch in there.

In any case, during the summer we eat out in the garden as much as possible and in fact were out there only last week when we had guests for Sunday lunch.

All three Redgrave boys enjoy winter fayre much more than summer salads and we've had several roasts already – they just love lashings of gravy and mounds of meat, potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

It's harder work for Mum and Dad in the kitchen though. Summer cooking is much easier – simply pop a bag of new potatoes into a pan and chop up a few lettuce leaves and tomatoes with a slice of cold meat or cheese.

Winter roasts and stews require more effort in the chopping department, not to mention the washing up afterwards.

Last week, after saying how much he had enjoyed his meal, our youngest told me I was a much better cook in the winter than I was during the summer. He described our roast dinner as "Love on a plate!"

What a little angel. If he keeps on paying compliments like that, I'll gladly cook him a roast meal every night of the week.