Summer.

Today is the start of summer and we've had the weather to match. At 8.30 this morning it was already 23C at the Lifeboat station and currently it's 25C in the kitchen. A gentle breeze kept it feeling just right. It was hazy and then overcast for most of the day with the sun breaking through in the late afternoon. The sea was completely flat with the smallest of waves arriving at the beach making it perfect for children of which there were many playing in the water.

I was up early to phone the Booking Dept. for a dental appointment. It was most irritating to get an answer phone message saying leave your details and we'll get back to you. This I did and then waited and waited. Three hours later I had heard nothing so left a polite message requesting a response. Surprise, surprise they rang back almost immediately claiming that they'd tried to ring but our phone was blocking the call. Didn't have that problem when NHS Direct rang me yesterday so I'm somewhat sceptical. I've now got an NHS appointment on Thursday though I have to phone that practice at 8.30 to find out what time. I shan't cancel the private appointment for Friday until I've actually seen a dentist. The lady I spoke to was shocked about the dentit's no-show yesterday and she told me they had booked 8 appointments there yesterday and would be looking into it.

I had a general tidy up of all my curtain making bits which seem to have spread all over the sitting room. During the day the replacement Venetian blind arrived or rather two blinds turned up. I suppose they just repeated the original order. It looks like the extra blind will fit the window in Peter's study which is a bonus.

And today I got the clothes airer fitted. Fixing the cleat to the wall took a while as there is a gap between the plasterboard and the wall so I had to use special plugs with longer screws. Naturally I found one screw in the tub of screws that was just right and it then took forever to find another screw of the right size which was a flat head instead of a crosshead. The metal pieces needed a third coat of paint which dried very quickly and then it was a matter of consulting a YouTube video to see how to thread the rope.

We finished the day sitting out on the terrace or in my case half in the doorway.

Yesterday evening the blackbird was back with a beakful of what I eventually worked out was a small crab. A bit later I watched the blackbird, minus crab, disappear over the cliff to the rockpools.

Every sunset is fascinating to watch and I find it hard to pull myself away from the window until the sun has sunk below the horizon. Even then we often get moments of intense red before night finally arrives.