After I separated from my husband in 2017, and my two grown-up daughters left for university and travelling, I found myself at a bit of a loose end. My best friend of 25 years, Claudia, swooped in and took me on holiday. She’s the most fantastic planner; she just told me what to pack and when we were flying, and off we went.

Claudia took me to her native Colombia, a place I knew nothing about. We went across the whole country, backpacking, getting on planes, buses, visiting beaches, mountains, jungles…I was completely in her hands.

While we were there we started buying CBD oils and balms; not to ingest but to use as cosmetics. At the time, cannabis was completely frowned upon in Colombia; even though the plant had been used in traditional medicines by the indigenous people for centuries.

We used the products for everything: rosacea, spots, sunburns, eczema, insect bites. We were amazed at how good they were.

By the last week of our holiday, which was supposed to be on the beach, we ended up trawling around the cities looking for CBD products. It was hard because just like in the UK back then, there wasn’t really a CBD business. It was still frowned upon in Colombia because of the connotations with the drug trade.