Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t expect my own clothing brand or a book deal.

But I did hope I wouldn’t be quite as ruthlessly ribbed on a bi-weekly basis.

“Yeah, all the cool kids have an allotment now,” they insisted.

“It’s not for old fogies,” they genuinely pronounced and convincingly urged: “it’s a young person’s thing now.”

Well, maybe.

But, let’s be frank, growing your own veg doesn’t glisten with the cool factor to lure the Shoreditch trendies.

I’m not sure Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has done a great deal for amateur growers and I can’t see many members of One Direction picking up a hoe for the cause.

The reality is people still raise an eyebrow when I proudly say: “I’ve got an allotment.”

What is it they find so hard to grasp?

That I am capable of chiselling my backside off the sofa and raking some soil?

The frequent riposte often lacks wit or, to be honest, any genuine thought.

Generally it is snorts of: “Why don’t you go down the supermarket, like everyone else?”

Fair point. You rarely have to shovel up an animal’s poo, or gather your groceries in a wheelbarrow at Tesco.

But then I am a stickler for my vegetables actually tasting of something.

And I can’t bear the near soul-destroying experience of ‘waiting for assistance’ because the self-service till doesn’t like the weight of my tin of creamed rice.

Life is definitely better spent on hands and knees clearing under the Kale plants.

I’ll grant the clothing choices on the plot are questionable.

But it wouldn’t surprise me if allotment chic becomes next year’s ‘have-to-be-seen-in’ look… and, if it is, I have enough mud-stained corduroy trousers to keep Top Man stocked up to Christmas.

In fact, I would say allotmenteering is something more young people should do.

A group of friends can work as a team to get tasks done, and it’s a cheap pastime.

A small patch given even the mildest attention will yield enough food to help a young couple cut the grocery bills. Guaranteed.

In a city, like Oxford, where personal green space is at a premium, allotment spots are readily available. You can make it feel like your own garden.

So, before you draw breath to point or laugh at my expense, think.

As a hobby, it has to better than seven hours’ gaming online with a Taiwanese teenager who’s taking it all a little too seriously.

Truth be told, I can’t think of many things which are cooler than having an allotment.