Summer.

Unusually for me I've been off-line for nearly 24 hours so it wasn't until today that I saw my friend Claire had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Such exciting news. She had been keeping quiet about about exactly when she was going in and also hadn't wanted to know what sex they were so we've all been looking forward to this day. Her hubby posted such a lovely photo with Claire smiling so proudly. 

It's officially the first day of summer and the shining sun tempted me outside for the whole day. A cold breeze has made things chilly at times but was perfect for drying the sheets I put in the machine first thing. They're already ironed and back on the bed. I love the feel and smell of fresh ironed sheets while Peter says he can't tell the difference. To him ironing sheets is a waste of time. He's been out all day at the gig club's regatta at Instow. He's home now having had a great time and a satisfying race as well. Supper will be a couple of large trout given by a friend who goes fishing but doesn't like eating fish.

I've been trying to pace myself to lessen the impact on my knee and back but I have managed to tidy most of the ornamental grass bed. As I dug up some of the invading runners I came up with a plan (for a future garden) of growing each grass in concrete pipes disguised by gravel. In between gardening I've been reading The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes. This was a library book chosen almost at random as I flew through the library on Wednesday. I'm really enjoying it because the main character keeps her horse in an East End yard under railway arches so similar to the ones I knew 30 years ago when I looked after people's horses in London. Even in those days there was only one similar yard and a couple of even smaller ones in Stepney though there would probably have been a few more scattered around the east of London. The characters and the yard are so evocative that I'm wondering if the author had experience of that yard. 

2 nights ago when I couldn't sleep and was listening to Radio 4 I had another evocative experience. The theme of the program was darkness at night and a large part was about Lundy. Lundy was featured because it is not on the national grid but electricity is supplied by 2 generators which are switched off at midnight, or thereabouts. At one point I only had to hear the clang of a door and the clunk of footsteps to know exactly where they were - The Old Lighthouse. I even felt I could almost tell how high they were as they climbed the steps to the lantern room with its 360 views over the island. Happy holiday memories.