How i became a cover girl for the day

Nobody was more surprised than i to find myself on the cover of the Telegraph Life section. I had expected a little piece like the one before

So the tale of how it came to be, and no i don't have a PR.

Garden columnist Bunny Guinness telephoned to ask me my suggestions for a Royal Wedding party. I talked of a glamping approach, bringing fine china and furniture into the garden. I can't abide paper plates.

I had planned to do a mini shoot for the blog in celebration of all things Royal wedding, and we decided maybe a Telegraph photographer could come along and get some details shots, in 2 days time. Panic.

There was no way a Telegraph photographer was coming to my garden. I asked The Mother Hen and The Captain.

" You have only been in your new house a week, but could i drag loads of furniture into your garden, nail lampshades to the trees, and borrow your fancy china? and could you help me carry it the mile to the bottom of the garden? and provide homemade biscuits? I will also bring The Other Miss Pickering to help"

Having me as a daughter is a real treat. A real treat.

and so Clara Molden came, and we ate the biscuits and drank tea, and styled and shot and talked of George Clooney and Royal Weddings. I didn't know they were going to take my picture, otherwise i would have defrizzed my fringe. Obvs.

Special thanks go to Angela at The Missing Curtain ( a stylists dream) for the provision of actual silver, Roger and Sue from The Hair House for the large vintage Union Jack, and to my chimney sweep for making me laugh and cry.

The Hound wasn't there, he had important boy stuff to do, and as he rightly said, it isn't like i haven't been in the paper before.....

After appearing in the You magazine, i was bombarded with calls from perverts. This time people are enquiring about all manner of things, but as one would expect from a Telegraph reader, their spelling and grammar is faultless.

Good times.