Chilly.

The weather has not been kind to us today. It rained heavily overnight with some showers in the morning. It did dry up for the afternoon but there was the ever present threat of more rain and it was decidedly cold. 

While we ate our breakfast I spotted a seal in the sea. It stayed up long enough for me to be able to watch through the binoculars as it ate a fish it had caught. Yesterday evening we'd seen two dolphins swimming nearby and then moving down the coast.

I still got in a little gardening after breakfast. I planted the spring star flower bulbs in swathes around the herbaceous perennials in the raised beds. They flower very early in the Spring so should provide some colour while the main plants are still sleeping.

Later on we went to the local street party which this year was timed to coincide with the Jubilee celebrations. A much smaller turnout this year not doubt due to the cold weather. I was glad I'd 'layered up' which kept me reasonably warm. However we enjoyed renewing aquaitances and meeting more of our neighbours. The new family that moved in next-door also came along and it was good to start getting to know them. 

Seeing the way we got together to share food got me thinking about the recent item on social media about how in Sweden children or even adults visiting another house would not be offered food and might even be expected to sit at the table unfed while the family ate their meal. Very different cultural expectations. I come from a background where hospitality means sharing food, the best you can offer so it is very difficult to understand. It just goes to show what coming from a different culture can involve. I found the map below very interesting. I wonder how the rest of the world would fit into those categories? BTW I never think of myself as English, just British with a Lithuanian heritage. Guests to my home will be fed.