Perhaps I should have written about the terrific tomato plant when I first noticed it many weeks ago. Perhaps that would have given readers the opportunity to spend more time on the timeless lessons espoused by the tomato plant (I only wrote about it this week.)

Alas, the inevitable has happened – the tomato plant that stood upright for many weeks, defying many formidable situations including having little or no earth, strong uncooperative concrete and a neighbour who refused to give it the tiniest drop of water, has bowed!

After all that remarkable display of exceptionalism. After all that distinguished performance. After all that attention-grabbing demonstration, the tomato has taken a bow. On its way out of this world. Literarily. It’s only a matter of days now and it will drop finally to the cold concrete that didn’t give it any succour or cooperation all these weeks. And it will be gone.