Sweltering.

I was back in school this afternoon. I can't say I was teaching simply keeping 30 children occupied (actually they occupied themselves very well by drawing, playing literacy and numeracy games on the pcs or playing with Lego outside in the shade). I also had another 30 children sat on the carpet watching 'Mary Poppins' on the main whiteboard. I had given my class a choice of what they wanted to do but the other class came with a TA and the instructions to watch the DVD so that's what they did. 

Coming home the countryside looks somewhat toasted. Most years everything is a lot greener from the frequent rain. For quite a few years this would be the weekend I would drive the boys eastward to scout camp and I would always be surprised at how dry everything looked as we left Devon. On the Somerset plains there would be golden fields of ripe wheat, something we hardly see here, and as we crossed into Hampshire there would be sandy commons so unlike our squelchy moorland.

At home Speedy was making the most of the sun while Squeaky chose to sit in the shade of the chimney.

Before I went out to sit in the sun I finished off a little DIY that I had started in the morning - putting a catch on the cupboard door under the sink. That's where we keep the kitchen bin which our cats would love to raid. Up till now we've had a Heath Robinson type of catch made from a keyring hook and some wire but it was awkward to use and fell apart every now and again. I had a brainwave and bought a childproof cupboard lock. I mean how cleaver could those cats be? It did the job until constant use made the adhesive pads come unstuck. So I fixed it firmly on to the wooden cupboard door with a couple of screws. The very next morning I found the plastic latch broken (and it wasn't the cats) so today I put on an old fashioned hook and eye. Not such a simple job as due to the way the door was on I had to screw 2 pieces of wood to the side of the cupboard to get the hook to go into the eye. But it does the job now even if there are a few extra holes in the cupboard door.