Summer
Sweet Victoria plums in our garden It is not over yet but this has been one of the loveliest English summers that I can remember. So many warm, sunny days. Swallows on the wing and ripening brambles in the hedgerows. There's a hosepipe ban and reservoirs are depleting but I am not complaining. This lovely summer has gone on and on. Currently, we are on the brink of our fourth official heatwave since the start of May. Yesterday, Shirley's extended family converged on the North Lincolnshire village of Amcotts where her Auntie Marion lives. She had created the most wonderful and wholesome buffet with home-cured ham, tender beef, fresh salad, homemade quiches, lasagne made from scratch, rice and pasta and beautiful homemade desserts including cheesecakes, fruit salad, strawberries and Bakewell tart. All so delicious. As I said to Auntie Marion before we left... "If only all buffet meals were as special as this one." Once again she had done a sterling job of it all. ...