Cool.

For most of the day there has been a light mist which made everything feel a bit cold and clammy. It wasn't until the end of the afternoon that the sun began breaking through and raising the temperature.

I've a happy day working outside. In the back garden I dug over the ground in front of the raised bed. Really it would have been better to wait until we fill the bed but the soil and gravel won't be here until the end of the week so I'll just put down a couple of slabs to walk on when we do begin the grand filling. The small section at the end is separated by a block or wall which seems to go under the raised bed so perhaps I'll keep some of the perennial herbs in there. Digging the ground gave me the chance to remove any roots and every tiny piece of inorganic material. I'm so fussy that even the big blue flakes from some rusted railings had to go.

Digging done I moved to the front garden where I sawed the roots of a bush that had grown through the base of a dilapidated terracotta pot into the gravel. Once free I dropped the whole thing on the grass where it broke into manageably sized pieces and I was able to remove the bush and shake off the compost. In the middle of all that a chap came with his wife to collect those plastic planters. So good to know they aren't going into landfill yet. I also began freeing the central gate from the trunk of an elder bush which had grown around the metal. Starting out with a saw my method then reverted to chiselling off the wood with a hammer and screwdriver. I wasn't able to test my work because I couldn't raise the locking bar from the hole in the paving though it would turn in either direction. That'll need a stronger hand than mine.

The sea had been more or less empty for most of the day then as we sat out for a while the children's surfing lesson took place and filled the sea with eager surfers.