I looked at the weather forecast for Bude today, which is where I should have been, walking the South West Coast path, and noted with a degree of Schadenfreude that it is quite showery, windy, and a bit cool. So hopefully next year it will be better. There has been a remarkable temperature drop here too. When I put the washing out this morning (yes, I have a washing line, no tumble drier), it was 11C. Rather different from the 27C last week.
I have achieved a Pilates class and over 3 miles walking today: good attempt to work off the effects of the rhubarb crumble. This afternoon I met a friend for a stroll on Riddlesdown. This is chalk downland owned by the City of London. It has lovely wild flowers which my friend is expert at identifying. There was a great deal of yellow rattle, ox eye daisies, St John’s wort: it was very pretty and I cannot fathom why I have not been there more often as it is very close to here.


When I got home, it was back to watering the garden. I am now wondering when there will be a hosepipe ban, in that we have had no significant rain for weeks. It was also fractionally warmer so I sat outside for a while. And I thought of the A.A. Milne statement (though not original it seems) : ” Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.” I felt like that today, just sitting.
I have discovered that the Wigmore Hall, London, is live streaming some amazing concerts. I am currently listening to Stephen Hough playing Bach. Do listen if you get the chance. He is playing to an empty hall, I find this very moving. The broadcast is sound and video.
https://wigmore-hall.org.uk/live-streams/stephen-hough-js-bach-and-schumann