Warmer.

Still pleasantly warm but the day began with heavy rain. A good thing they hadn't planned doing the footings today. By mid-day the rain had stopped, eventually the sun broke through and there was a point in the afternoon when it was almost hot.

While Peter went off to town to get a new manhole lid and other shopping I finished off the usual jobs and then went out to do some more work in the back garden. I began moving some paving slabs so I could see how they look in the spot where the tree trunk stood. Then I moved the subsoil from four bags I'd stored it in after I dug it out of the herb garden, to make a firm base for the slabs. I raked and began to tamp it down but some of the clay was too wet and kept sticking to the post I was using and to the bottom of my boots. Nevertheless I felt I'd made good progress with that project.

I missed the really warm spell but sat out on the terrace daydreaming about making progress in the front garden. As soon as the walls for the raised beds are up I can start clearing the piles of rubble and soil which will be a relief. The climbing hydrangea I'd tied back into the hedge is putting out new leaves and I can see several flower heads while further along the hedge a good proportion of the honeysuckle I transplanted under the hedge is doing well. All good towards my plan of making the hedge more varied and looking more natural while staying manageable low enough for us to still see the sea. 

I heard on the radio yesterday that charges for disposing of diy rubbish, things like plasterboard and glass at council dumps, sometimes as much as £10 per item or bag are about to be abolished across the country. They were introduced some years ago and you wonder where common sense was at the time. Anyone could see what was going to happen and it did. How much did it cost to clear all the rubbish fly tipped on roadside verges or public land? I believe it was many times more than the small income from the council dumps. Not to mention the thousands it costs farmers and other land owners to clear rubbish from gateways and even inside fields.