Every year monsoon rains cause the three major rivers of Bangladesh to swell resulting in devastation for those living there with homes and crops destroyed. Sandbars emerge as the rivers recede but ‘char’, the silted sand plains that the floods leave behind are too infertile for even the most skilled farmer to tend.

With new skills, compost and seeds Practical Action practicalaction.org enable people with no land of their own to grow up to 600 pumpkins a year. With the extra income they earn they can send their children to school, buy livestock and become more resilient to the monsoon climate. We tried growing pumpkins this year not really for food but for fun, how humbling to see that such a simple idea can be a life saver for others.

Tonight is the final episode of Gardeners World for this year and next week the end of British Summer Time. When we are thinking of what to plant next Spring and see shortages in the shops and how vulnerable we are to the  vagaries of the weather and the supply chain, even in this country, will we buy foodstuffs grown locally or grow our own or buy produce which is flown in, do the farmers get a decent return for their crops? All these questions are difficult and we have to make decisions on every outing to the shops.

Can we pray for those who live literally on the edge, their lives hanging in the balance and that our collective energy and prayers will be with those working for a successful outcome to COP26. Please include the Rev Dr. Martin Johnstone, the Church of Scotland minister who is Glasgow Churches Together’s ambassador to the conference.