It’s a special feeling when you discover a book that you and your partner both loved as children. The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch is one of those books for me and Brad. Even nicer is the fact that Rowan is now loving it too.

Published in 1977, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch was the first children’s book by Ronda Armitage, and was illustrated by her husband David. Ronda is a New Zealander and David an Australian, and they dreamed of being lighthouse keepers themselves. The story has that living-a-fantasy quality to it - and it’s infectious. You can’t help but think how nice it would be to live in a lighthouse and have as your sole responsibility tending to the light.

The protagonists in this story, Mr and Mrs Grinling, don’t live in the lighthouse itself. They live in a small white cottage perched high on the cliffs opposite, and Mr Grinling rows out to the lighthouse to clean and polish the light. Mrs Grinling is an amazing cook and each day she prepares a delicious fresh lunch for her husband. She packs the lunch in a basket and clips it to a wire, which runs from the little white cottage all the way across to the lighthouse.

But one day, something terrible happens and before the lunch reaches Mr Grinling along the wire, it is discovered by three hungry seagulls, who devour the lot. The rest of the story follows the attempts that Mr and Mrs Grinling make to deter the pesky seagulls.

The idea of lunch on a wire is brilliant and as a little girl I found it fascinating to imagine. In the same way that I loved A Big Ball of String, I was so drawn to the idea of a contraption that had been strung up for this purpose. Brad says he loved the descriptions of all the delicious food - and I can’t fault him there. How would you like this on your Monday lunch menu? ‘Mixed seafood salad, a Lighthouse Sandwich, Cold Chicken Garni, Sausages and Crisps, Peach Surprise, Iced Sea Biscuits and drinks and assorted fruit.’ Enough to make your mouth water.