Happy holiday!

Summertime

Was it only last week we were on a frost warning?

It's been fairly warm this week, though yesterday it was also distinctly thundery (or it could be that work had given me a headache). The daily commute provided plenty with which to be distracted and it would have been churlish not to have been. Over the past few months I had come to the conclusion that the lady with the nice bottom who travels on my train had lost weight she could have done with keeping. The removal of the winter anorak midweek confirmed my fears. The summer skirt still had that hypnotic sway but there is less substance to the allure than there should be. The black high-heeled pixie boots just emphasised the loss.

My garden is currently a riot. Mostly of weed seedlings, with herb Robert and willowherbs jostling for space amongst the horsetails. Midway along the path is a patch of nipplewort seedlings. I'm inclined to leave them alone for prurience's sake. "What's them little yellow dandelion-y things?" "Them's nipplewort." We do what we can for the tourist industry. Littered amongst the foliage is a profusion of feathered hooligans. The goldfinches have gone a bit quiet, which means they have young to feed. The spadgers paraded the first batch of baby sparrows the other day and very welcome they are, too. The noise from the bottom of the garden suggests that the blue tits have decided to grace one of the six hitherto-unused nestboxes. The seventh has been used alternatively by wood mice and bumblebees. We should be OK for gooseberries and blackberries this year.

A jobbing gardener has stuck a flier through my door. I know of his work. His idea of gardening is to prune magnolias in March. I'll stick with the weeds, thank you.

Everything stops for tea

"And what tisanes have you got?"

"Well, we've got Lemsip, Lemsip Max or Blackcurrant Lemsip, which is a bit like cherry Ribena."

We're H A P P Y, we're H A P P Y...

Still here in spirit

I feel like I'm neglecting a lot of people lately. I hope to catch up with things some time. Soon, I hope.

Adulation

On the bus on the way home I've kept noticing that there's a blue plaque on a housing block near the traffic lights. I've often wondered what it was for. Today we were stuck in a traffic jam just beside it so I could have a read.

I'm irrationally pleased that it's in honour of Terry Hall and Lenny the Lion.

Holiday for springs

I'm working my way through my turn with the office cold and being a bit miserable with it. OK, even more miserable. Even by my standards the bed is spectacularly unmade, the result of a poor night's sleep caused by a combination of bunged-up nose and frozen shoulder. All the dreams were about detective stories, which suggests there's something I need to remember. Which could be any one of a million things these days: going into the fridge yesterday to pick up the piece of pork I'd bought my parents I found a carrier bag with a book in it. You can guess the rest...

Breakfast was probably a bit heavy on the garlic and chili. Well, very heavy on the garlic and chili, but I'm not planning on kissing anybody today. Or this year at all if the past few months are anything to go by.

My God, it's cold today. We were discussing this the other day: is it just a male thing to switch off the central heating once we reach British Summer Time?

It might as well be Spring

The first swifts have skimmed overhead, the garden is full of the song of wren and blackcap and the air is thick with the scent of cherryblossom and narcissi. The bad news is that the newly-cleared areas of the garden are thick with willowherb seedlings and goosegrass. The good news is that the patio is full of lemon balm and marjoram and there's every reason to expect a summer full of soft fruits.

I've planted up the first of this year's hanging baskets.

At five o'clock this evening the sky turned black, the wind got up and it's become very cold.

Happy bank holiday weekend everyone!