Sand from Africa.

Very different weather today. It's still incredibly hot but with showers in the morning. After the rain all the cars were covered with sand from the Sahara blown in by the southerly wind. We literally could not see out of the windscreen.

This morning there was a lot of noise coming from a group of gulls on the water. It was the gull equivalent of a playgroup with much excitement from the fledglings (toddler gulls) as they got know each other. Elsewhere in the bay the rest of the gulls floated quietly on the water.

Then much excitement as I spotted a dolphin cruising down the coast and managed to get a reasonable photo.

It was dry later on when I cycled down to the Community Gardens and stayed dry right until we were about to leave after enjoying some chai spiced cake. Before the cake and chat I helped cut back bramble runners which were snaking their way into the grass.

When nobody is there these two chickens live in a moveable house and run but get to roam when somebody is working in the gardens. The orange hen is 14 years old. She knows when it's cake time and always comes to see what she can scrounge. She will also jump up on the table to help herself to cake if the cover is left off the cake which happened today. Quick as a flash she was up and got herself a beakfull of cream cheese frosting before getting a good telling off.

Despite the hazy sky it was still exceptionally hot and continued on for the rest of the day. We had to collect the camper from the garage. It now has a new MOT and had some holes (not sure where) repaired and as soon as we've cleaned it up and taken out all our stuff it will be going up for sale. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon installing the gate. That took a while because first I thought the post would be better in a slightly different position which meant drilling another hole in a granite block only to find that didn't work. Back to the original plan and after a few more minor adjustments the gate is in place. All that's left to do is to drill a hole in the gate for some rope to hook over the upright stone in the wall to stop the gate swinging open. That should stop the wind blowing into the garden.

It was as I sat on the terrace having a well earned rest that I heard laughter from out on the water. It was a neighbour and her daughters on a paddleboard. With them was their dog, in a life jacket, having a swim in the sea. They are always on the water in one way or another but it was funny to see Muffin paddling around in the water. The girl in front was absolutely roaring with laughter while her sister, complete with shark's fin was busy watching the fish.

It was too good an evening to waste so Peter cooked up another barbecue, (chicken and sausages), which we ate outside while watching more dolphins beyond the long reef and later the sunset.