Thanks! I'll look out for it - was it in with the Fish/Sea Food, or the Prepared Meals?
I'm not sure; I think not far from the fish cakes. It was a "Finest", in their silvery-cardboard box with two in it, one of which I put in the freezer.
Cooler and a bit blustrous in West Lothian today, but apparently going to heat up later in the week: allegedly 26° on Friday, which is Too Bloody Hot.
Orzo with green beans, lemon, garlic and basil, topped with fried breadcrumbs, lemon zest, Parm and more basil for supper, and rather good - I'll do that again.
Thanks! I'll look out for it - was it in with the Fish/Sea Food, or the Prepared Meals?
I'm not sure; I think not far from the fish cakes. It was a "Finest", in their silvery-cardboard box with two in it, one of which I put in the freezer.
<snip>
Couldn't see the Haddock Kyiv today, but the Fish section of our fairly small Tess Coe was rather bare - as in 'stripped by Locusts'...
I'll try later in the week, coz it does sound delicious...
I have given up looking at the listings for BBC1 and ITV in the Radio Times, they are quite incomprehensible. Mostly I just channel-hop until I find something that isn't sport. Needed to avoid all news & magazine-type programmes today - only one subject, being returned to under various guises, time & time again
I don't know anyone who watches "normal" TV - I haven't watched "normal" TV in years, I just stream things. Extremely easy to avoid sport on TV that way!
I have given up looking at the listings for BBC1 and ITV in the Radio Times, they are quite incomprehensible. Mostly I just channel-hop until I find something that isn't sport. Needed to avoid all news & magazine-type programmes today - only one subject, being returned to under various guises, time & time again
Taylor Swift's wedding being the subject, I assume 😉
I don't use social media beyond YouTube and Tumblr, and like I said I don't watch "normal" TV but just do streaming - I saw a bit of sports content on a local newspaper's website and on Tumblr, but nothing intrusive. I check The Guardian website every so often for international/national news but just scroll past the sports section.
I watched the tennis last night while doing some knitting and rather enjoyed it. I'm not bothered by the football though.
Another hot day here. I headed out for a meeting this morning and to call into a couple of shops. This afternoon it is coffee with friends and then a talk about the own this evening. I must remember to take a hat with me this afternoon as it is quite a long walk to the cafe where we're meeting.
I don't know anyone who watches "normal" TV - I haven't watched "normal" TV in years, I just stream things. Extremely easy to avoid sport on TV that way!
Quite. When we redecorated our lounge a couple of years ago we had a choice between rechanelling the aerial cable around the door or managing without. We decided to manage without until such time as it proved and issue.
So far it has failed to present any problems, apart from being 30 seconds behind the terrestrial TV people during Eurovision.
80F+ in Arkland the Warm, but very much less humid than in Heatwave the Second. A pleasant westerly breeze helps, too.
Pilates was attempted, and (as I expected) the studio was well-equipped with enormous Fans to achieve a comfortable environment. After having missed two sessions, various parts of my Person needed some effort to persuade them into the positions required by the Torturer.
Being now in need of protein, Lunch is STEAK and Potato Salad.
We have arrived in foie gras land. It was 40° when we got off the train and it was like stepping into a blast furnace. We are now home under the aircon.
I got a bad night's sleep. Despite not having noticed injuring myself at all, once I was lying in bed I realised I had a dull pain in my shoulder and that plus the heat meant I couldn't get to sleep. About midnight I eventually got up and took paracetamol. Husband en rouge's alarm went off at 6:15 and I never went back to sleep again. Early night tonight methinks. The shoulder seems mostly to have stopped hurting now so I have no idea what that was about.
TBH the only sport I really get excited about is tennis (and only Wimbledon: the other tournaments just don't look right)!
I might take a bit of interest in the Commonwealth Games later in the summer though.
In other news, I'm rather cross: I ambled up to the station (just up a hill from the office) to renew my oldie's railcard, but there was nobody at the desk. Then when I came home, I had a message from my hairdresser postponing my haircut until Saturday when I'd specifically booked it as I'm going out with some friends on Friday and wanted to look what passes for my best.
C'est la chuffing vie ...
I made Russian Ukrainian salad, and had some of it with quiche and other salads for supper.
That happened to us @MrsBeaky. We only realised when the skirting board next to the dishwasher split. We'd only recently had it installed and the company were very good at sorting out the problems and replacing the skirting board. I hope you get it sorted pronto as not having one is a pain.
I headed to a meeting of a local society tonight. Interesting talk about the area. I was actually cold as the room we were in had the air-con on at full blast.
I haven’t watched much of Wimbledon this year ( the only sport I am interested in) but tonight’s match was stunning. BBC1 chose to stick with it until the very end ( 5 hours, 5 sets and a tie breaker), making the 10pm news over an hour late.
In other news I can hardly believe that my oldest grandchild is 25 today.
Up early, an hours gardening. Play with the dog with the hose pipe on the shady part of the lawn - that's his exercise instead of a hot walk. Housework as needed. Then shower followed by breakfast, which I am currently eating.
Soon I'm off to a new friend of mine, who is an artist, for coffee. Looking forward to it.
Scorchio again in Arkland the Scorched - about 88F - with not much breeze.
Tess Coe has been visited, as I was out of Bread, and the village Co-Op doesn't sell the 'Seed Sensations' variety on which I chiefly subsist. Alas! no sign of the Haddock Kyiv mentioned by @Piglet - I suspect that it's probably only available in the Mega-Store on the other side of Our Town.
O well. CHICKEN (in a Lime and Mango coating) n'Potato Salad for lunch.
I see your 88°F and raise you 37°C in foie gras land (about 98°F apparently). I took Captain P to play in the park this morning but it's now much too hot to do anything. We are shut up indoors with the air-conditioning, reading books, playing board games and watching the Tour de France. I quite like the Tour, although I'll admit to being one of those who watch it more for the landscapes than for the actual cycling.
I see your 88°F and raise you 37°C in foie gras land (about 98°F apparently). I took Captain P to play in the park this morning but it's now much too hot to do anything. We are shut up indoors with the air-conditioning, reading books, playing board games and watching the Tour de France. I quite like the Tour, although I'll admit to being one of those who watch it more for the landscapes than for the actual cycling.
When we lived in Malta (or should that be on Malta) one summer was exceptionally hot so when the younger children got home from school we put them in a cool bath. We didn’t have air con but Mrs Sioni and I had experience of hot weather in our youth so we knew not to put our kids through the heat except when absolutely unavoidable.
A little later we joined a club with air conditioning, a swimming pool, 100% cover and a nice bar. Late dinners became the norm.
We went to the rather nice Georgian market town to the south today for a guided tour and a mooch round the shops. The tour was excellent, and the guide was careful to steer us from one patch of shade to another. We then went for lunch at a vegan cafe my husband had been to with a friend last week. A really nice tartlet and salad with roast potatoes in a lemony dressing. I'm now not very hungry so I'm going to have a cup of tea and a snack before heading out to a meeting this evening.
Summer seems to have arrived in West Lothian; it got up to 26° (or 80°, depending on which century you live in ) today.
I ambled back to the station at lunchtime, and behold, there was a nice lady at the desk who cheerfully replaced my oldie card (in exchange for £35 - it's gone up since the last time I got one ). I also got my tickets for going to Glasgow, so I shan't have to faff about on Friday.
I caught the bus to go to Scrabble as it felt too hot to walk. The room was just about bearable, thanks to some fans.
I walked home with a friend and as we passed the day nursery there was a loud bang as two cars collecting children somehow collided. Both badly damaged, occupants shaken and needed checking over. My friend phoned the police, but by the time they arrived, the cars had been moved off the road and into the car park, the injured had walked into the office and between us all the debris was cleared off the road.
@la vie en rouge sending Cooling Thoughts your way - when the air feels like an oven it's so horrible, it just saps all your energy.
33c here well into the afternoon, I went out to pick up a parcel at about 5pm and the air was very warm and still. 32-33c all week here @Bishops Finger when does it cool down for you? I read that the warm air was moving SW so you should get cooler weather a bit earlier than those of us in the South Central area (as I think of it - not quite either the SW or SE here).
Summer seems to have arrived in West Lothian; it got up to 26° (or 80°, depending on which century you live in ) today.
I ambled back to the station at lunchtime, and behold, there was a nice lady at the desk who cheerfully replaced my oldie card (in exchange for £35 - it's gone up since the last time I got one ). I also got my tickets for going to Glasgow, so I shan't have to faff about on Friday.
Last time we were back we renewed our cards on line and now have magical electrical senior railcards installed on our telephones. Nobody ever asked to see them.
Come to think of it, I did miss meeting the ticket staff at Queen Street. There's one friendly man in particular who has been there for years.
@la vie en rouge sending Cooling Thoughts your way - when the air feels like an oven it's so horrible, it just saps all your energy.
33c here well into the afternoon, I went out to pick up a parcel at about 5pm and the air was very warm and still. 32-33c all week here @Bishops Finger when does it cool down for you? I read that the warm air was moving SW so you should get cooler weather a bit earlier than those of us in the South Central area (as I think of it - not quite either the SW or SE here).
They say it'll get down to 25C at the weekend - much more comfortable...
@la vie en rouge sending Cooling Thoughts your way - when the air feels like an oven it's so horrible, it just saps all your energy.
33c here well into the afternoon, I went out to pick up a parcel at about 5pm and the air was very warm and still. 32-33c all week here @Bishops Finger when does it cool down for you? I read that the warm air was moving SW so you should get cooler weather a bit earlier than those of us in the South Central area (as I think of it - not quite either the SW or SE here).
They say it'll get down to 25C at the weekend - much more comfortable...
Alas it's a minimum of 29c here until Wednesday at least...
Just a few metres east of the meridian here but, being coastal, having the cooling effect of the sea to mitigate the heat a bit (still far too hot for my liking). A sea breeze would cool things a bit more, but none to speak of today, and what there is is coming up from the south.
A news item I saw a couple of days ago warned that the sea is also having a heatwave, and the couple of degrees it has already gained is threatening the sea creatures. Some have already moved out to cooler waters (that'll be where the missing pilchards are!), and some will not be able to survive.
Jolly hot here and very bright, I've been out to my last lip reading class of the term and am now finishing a speech ahead of the launch of our town's book festival later today. I now need to print it off and practice it.
Currently 34 degrees in Cambridge.
Yoga this morning and then we had coffee and cake at the house of one of the ladies to say goodbye to our yoga teacher who is retiring. Then home to put the shopping away, do laundry, etc. Bible study group this evening.
When I got into my car a few hours ago, it told me that the temperature was 42C, but a couple of minutes' driving with the windows open brought it down to 33C.
I've not been outdoors today, save for a brief foray to the village Co-Op. My good friend Mr D has just left, having brought me two of his lovely home-made Crubarb Rhumbles, and he reckoned that the saloon of the Ark was relatively cool - the portholes are all open, there is an occasional through breeze (due to strengthen from the east over the next few days), and a small electric fan is busily whirring away.
A late Lunch is BEEF STROGANOFF with Rice - a few minutes in the popty-ping - and I may take one of the Crubarb Rhumbles out to eat on deck later, or in the wheelhouse, if the evening air is cool enough.
I had to go and deliver some money to the Scrabble group treasurer this afternoon. She insisted on inviting me in and then showing me round her garden in 33 degrees. I retreated as soon as I politely could. ( lovely lady, good with numbers, talented gardener, chaotic house).
I rashly promised to provide a cake for the cake stall at our Come and Sing on Saturday. The instructions are to take it ready sliced in portions ready to sell at £2 a slice. Not being a talented cook, I opted for a fruit cake, using my mum’s recipe which I actually wrote down at dictation from her over thirty years ago. I haven’t put the oven on for months, as the microwave and air fryer provide adequately for my needs, so why did it have to be today, the hottest day of the week? Whilst it was on I cooked a jacket potato for my tea.
The book festival event was very nice. I then went to an awards ceremony at a local school. Great to hear such positive news about our young people, but it was jolly warm. Afterwards we headed into town for a bite to eat and a glass of wine which was much needed.
I have a meeting tomorrow morning and have just been sent some very complicated paperwork ahead of it. I doubt I'll be able to contribute much as I'm far too tired to get my brain into gear.
I had to go and deliver some money to the Scrabble group treasurer this afternoon. She insisted on inviting me in and then showing me round her garden in 33 degrees. I retreated as soon as I politely could. ( lovely lady, good with numbers, talented gardener, chaotic house).
I rashly promised to provide a cake for the cake stall at our Come and Sing on Saturday. The instructions are to take it ready sliced in portions ready to sell at £2 a slice. Not being a talented cook, I opted for a fruit cake, using my mum’s recipe which I actually wrote down at dictation from her over thirty years ago. I haven’t put the oven on for months, as the microwave and air fryer provide adequately for my needs, so why did it have to be today, the hottest day of the week? Whilst it was on I cooked a jacket potato for my tea.
Oh I would absolutely have been a Terrible Person and used a supermarket-bought cake! Or made a cake in the air fryer, at a push. I can't even bear to eat hot food in the heat, though.
26° indoors at 8am today. The temperature typically goes up 5-6° during the day. Anything after 3pm is likely to be a write-off.
Yesterday was a 3 t-shirt day. Expecting the same today. Trouble is, the washing machine kicks out a bit of extra heat.
We are off to a godson's wedding today.
I have had to adjust plans for what to wear as the wedding venue could be VERY hot.
It's also the Goodwood Festival of Speed so roads will be busy and no doubt also very hot.
Yikes!
We are expecting 38°C again today. We went into town to the sales this morning in anticipation of going to stay with our chic friends on the French Riviera in ten days' time. I got a pair of smart sandals (the pair from Decathlon that I am currently wearing are quite cute and very comfy but not Côte d'Azur elegant) and Captain Pyjamas is now quite the suave gentleman in a very fetching trilby-style straw hat.
We are home for our regularly scheduled programme of indoor entertainment under the air con.
I headed to the council building that is conveniently at the end of my road for a meeting of a charity on whose board of trustees I now find myself. The meeting was interesting and the building, being fairly new, was nice and cool and had good acoustics.
This afternoon I intend to watch the tennis before heading off to an event at our book festival this evening. I'm trying to make the most of having a lazyish day, the weekend will be manic.
Enjoy the wedding @MrsBeaky. I am trying to work out what to wear tomorrow that is both cool and comfortable and works with working at a book festival event, then the official opening of an art exhibition, followed by a formal church service for a local charity.
Very busy morning at the Hedgehog sanctuary, we have forty hogs in at the moment!
Two are being released today - into our garden! Part of our garden is dog-free so they will be fine.
They're in cardboard boxes in our hall at the moment, fast asleep. I will release them at dusk. Two girls - I think the hog we already have is a boy so he might be rather pleased. 🦔🦔
Hedgehogs need to be able to roam freely through various gardens so it's important to have access points. This is a video of ours arriving under the fence a couple of nights ago.
On a slightly related note, my YouTube feed is constantly giving me short videos of Beavers (mostly rescued animals AIUI) enjoying their cabbage, sweet potatoes, bananas, strawberries etc. - though I wouldn't care to risk my fingers near teeth that can fell trees...
Still hot (78F) in Arkland the Parched, despite an easterly breeze. I think the constant heat is beginning to affect me, as every movement now seems to tire me out, though perhaps it's partly due to increased humidity.
The garden fences on our estate are meant to have hedgehog access points but I haven't found one yet. I suspect it may be hidden in a corner behind some (currently very overgrown) vegetation.
Here at Casa Nen we are all about trying to minimise the heat in a house built to retain it. We spend ages wandering around checking all the room thermometers, reporting the figures to each other and debating when to open or close doors, windows, curtains... there's currently a slight breeze outside so we have dared to open our study windows.
In other news, some friends came over today for coffee and kindly took us out to lunch. I had fish and chips because (1) they do it so well at that pub and (2) Friday. We then drove through the village, showed them the church, village hall, etc, and had a very short, very hot, very slow walk along the canal. A boat obliged by going through the lock just as we were passing it. Canal boats make me think of you @Bishops Finger .
Interesting and enjoyable day yesterday, when the nuns and oblates from the Society of the Sacred Cross near Monmouth came to Dolanog for their annual pilgrimage, chosen this year to honour hymn-writer Ann Griffiths in the 250th anniversary of her birth. A visit to her home at Dolwar Fach, a walk along the river back to Dolanog, Eucharist in the Memorial Chapel celebrated by +Mary, lunch/tea/chat in the little community hall, before Evening Prayer in St John's church; both services using a liturgy agreed by Churches Together which can be used in church or chapel. The lovely, tiny community pulled out all the stops to give their visitors a memorable day.
I suggested to Reverend Mother that back at St Beuno's College, where they were staying the night before journeying back south, they would be spending a quiet evening with their feet up to recover; no, she corrected me gently: they would be spending it in prayer.
More Ann Griffiths to come on Sunday, with an evening singing her hymns in Llanfihangel yng Ngwynfa, the place of her burial, and then a Gymanfa Ganu in August.
Tomorrow my local choral society has a Come and Sing in the parish church. It has been promoting itself as a cool space this week, so I hope it fulfils its promise.
Interesting and enjoyable day yesterday, when the nuns and oblates from the Society of the Sacred Cross near Monmouth came to Dolanog for their annual pilgrimage, chosen this year to honour hymn-writer Ann Griffiths in the 250th anniversary of her birth. A visit to her home at Dolwar Fach, a walk along the river back to Dolanog, Eucharist in the Memorial Chapel celebrated by +Mary, lunch/tea/chat in the little community hall, before Evening Prayer in St John's church; both services using a liturgy agreed by Churches Together which can be used in church or chapel. The lovely, tiny community pulled out all the stops to give their visitors a memorable day.
I suggested to Reverend Mother that back at St Beuno's College, where they were staying the night before journeying back south, they would be spending a quiet evening with their feet up to recover; no, she corrected me gently: they would be spending it in prayer.
More Ann Griffiths to come on Sunday, with an evening singing her hymns in Llanfihangel yng Ngwynfa, the place of her burial, and then a Gymanfa Ganu in August.
Meanwhile my toilet isn't flushing - the building has rubbish water pressure which I think is a widespread problem locally - and a plumber can't come until MONDAY 😭😭😭 There are toilets in the building I can use but then this means getting dressed every time I need to use it....consequently I spent most of today getting two buses to a retail park so I could get things to try and sort it myself 🙄 Is there anywhere more hellish than a retail park when it's boiling hot? All that concrete makes it so much worse. I bought some sausage rolls from a Popular Sausage Roll Retailer for tonight's tea (to be eaten cold as I can't stomach the idea of hot food in this heat) to cheer myself up a little! Still 22c here in Watercress Land at 11.30pm.
I had a delightful evening in Glasgow with my choir chums: I'd highly recommend Cafe Andaluz.
We shared a load of delicious tapas, drank quite a lot of wine, and on the way back to the station stopped to pay our respects to the Duke of Wellington, Copenhagen (his horse) and the wee Scottie dog sculpture beside them, all suitably bedecked with traffic cones, as is Right and Proper.
It was certainly very warm, but bearable; I wonder if my inner thermostat has been reset so that I can tolerate more heat than I used to? 🤔
Comments
Cooler and a bit blustrous in West Lothian today, but apparently going to heat up later in the week: allegedly 26° on Friday, which is Too Bloody Hot.
Orzo with green beans, lemon, garlic and basil, topped with fried breadcrumbs, lemon zest, Parm and more basil for supper, and rather good - I'll do that again.
Back to normal now.
Couldn't see the Haddock Kyiv today, but the Fish section of our fairly small Tess Coe was rather bare - as in 'stripped by Locusts'...
I'll try later in the week, coz it does sound delicious...
I have given up looking at the listings for BBC1 and ITV in the Radio Times, they are quite incomprehensible. Mostly I just channel-hop until I find something that isn't sport. Needed to avoid all news & magazine-type programmes today - only one subject, being returned to under various guises, time & time again
Taylor Swift's wedding being the subject, I assume 😉
You have obviously been successful in avoiding sport in the last 30 hours.
Another hot day here. I headed out for a meeting this morning and to call into a couple of shops. This afternoon it is coffee with friends and then a talk about the own this evening. I must remember to take a hat with me this afternoon as it is quite a long walk to the cafe where we're meeting.
Quite. When we redecorated our lounge a couple of years ago we had a choice between rechanelling the aerial cable around the door or managing without. We decided to manage without until such time as it proved and issue.
So far it has failed to present any problems, apart from being 30 seconds behind the terrestrial TV people during Eurovision.
Pilates was attempted, and (as I expected) the studio was well-equipped with enormous Fans to achieve a comfortable environment. After having missed two sessions, various parts of my Person needed some effort to persuade them into the positions required by the Torturer.
Being now in need of protein, Lunch is STEAK and Potato Salad.
I got a bad night's sleep. Despite not having noticed injuring myself at all, once I was lying in bed I realised I had a dull pain in my shoulder and that plus the heat meant I couldn't get to sleep. About midnight I eventually got up and took paracetamol. Husband en rouge's alarm went off at 6:15 and I never went back to sleep again. Early night tonight methinks. The shoulder seems mostly to have stopped hurting now so I have no idea what that was about.
Dishwasher 🤬
I might take a bit of interest in the Commonwealth Games later in the summer though.
In other news, I'm rather cross: I ambled up to the station (just up a hill from the office) to renew my oldie's railcard, but there was nobody at the desk. Then when I came home, I had a message from my hairdresser postponing my haircut until Saturday when I'd specifically booked it as I'm going out with some friends on Friday and wanted to look what passes for my best.
C'est la chuffing vie ...
I made Russian Ukrainian salad, and had some of it with quiche and other salads for supper.
I headed to a meeting of a local society tonight. Interesting talk about the area. I was actually cold as the room we were in had the air-con on at full blast.
In other news I can hardly believe that my oldest grandchild is 25 today.
Up early, an hours gardening. Play with the dog with the hose pipe on the shady part of the lawn - that's his exercise instead of a hot walk. Housework as needed. Then shower followed by breakfast, which I am currently eating.
Soon I'm off to a new friend of mine, who is an artist, for coffee. Looking forward to it.
Tess Coe has been visited, as I was out of Bread, and the village Co-Op doesn't sell the 'Seed Sensations' variety on which I chiefly subsist. Alas! no sign of the Haddock Kyiv mentioned by @Piglet - I suspect that it's probably only available in the Mega-Store on the other side of Our Town.
O well. CHICKEN (in a Lime and Mango coating) n'Potato Salad for lunch.
When we lived in Malta (or should that be on Malta) one summer was exceptionally hot so when the younger children got home from school we put them in a cool bath. We didn’t have air con but Mrs Sioni and I had experience of hot weather in our youth so we knew not to put our kids through the heat except when absolutely unavoidable.
A little later we joined a club with air conditioning, a swimming pool, 100% cover and a nice bar. Late dinners became the norm.
Up to 32C in Arkland tomorrow, They say, with a bit more breeze from the south.
No air-con in the Ark, alas! so I'm wilting, even with a fan blowing at me. Time for another dose of H2O, I think.
I ambled back to the station at lunchtime, and behold, there was a nice lady at the desk who cheerfully replaced my oldie card (in exchange for £35 - it's gone up since the last time I got one
Further quiche, cold meat and salads for supper.
Then tennis - well done Mr Fery! 🎾
I walked home with a friend and as we passed the day nursery there was a loud bang as two cars collecting children somehow collided. Both badly damaged, occupants shaken and needed checking over. My friend phoned the police, but by the time they arrived, the cars had been moved off the road and into the car park, the injured had walked into the office and between us all the debris was cleared off the road.
33c here well into the afternoon, I went out to pick up a parcel at about 5pm and the air was very warm and still. 32-33c all week here
Come to think of it, I did miss meeting the ticket staff at Queen Street. There's one friendly man in particular who has been there for years.
They say it'll get down to 25C at the weekend - much more comfortable...
Alas it's a minimum of 29c here until Wednesday at least...
A news item I saw a couple of days ago warned that the sea is also having a heatwave, and the couple of degrees it has already gained is threatening the sea creatures. Some have already moved out to cooler waters (that'll be where the missing pilchards are!), and some will not be able to survive.
Yoga this morning and then we had coffee and cake at the house of one of the ladies to say goodbye to our yoga teacher who is retiring. Then home to put the shopping away, do laundry, etc. Bible study group this evening.
[irony]
When I got into my car a few hours ago, it told me that the temperature was 42C, but a couple of minutes' driving with the windows open brought it down to 33C.
I've not been outdoors today, save for a brief foray to the village Co-Op. My good friend Mr D has just left, having brought me two of his lovely home-made Crubarb Rhumbles, and he reckoned that the saloon of the Ark was relatively cool - the portholes are all open, there is an occasional through breeze (due to strengthen from the east over the next few days), and a small electric fan is busily whirring away.
A late Lunch is BEEF STROGANOFF with Rice - a few minutes in the popty-ping - and I may take one of the Crubarb Rhumbles out to eat on deck later, or in the wheelhouse, if the evening air is cool enough.
I rashly promised to provide a cake for the cake stall at our Come and Sing on Saturday. The instructions are to take it ready sliced in portions ready to sell at £2 a slice. Not being a talented cook, I opted for a fruit cake, using my mum’s recipe which I actually wrote down at dictation from her over thirty years ago. I haven’t put the oven on for months, as the microwave and air fryer provide adequately for my needs, so why did it have to be today, the hottest day of the week? Whilst it was on I cooked a jacket potato for my tea.
I have a meeting tomorrow morning and have just been sent some very complicated paperwork ahead of it. I doubt I'll be able to contribute much as I'm far too tired to get my brain into gear.
Oh I would absolutely have been a Terrible Person and used a supermarket-bought cake! Or made a cake in the air fryer, at a push. I can't even bear to eat hot food in the heat, though.
Yesterday was a 3 t-shirt day. Expecting the same today. Trouble is, the washing machine kicks out a bit of extra heat.
I have had to adjust plans for what to wear as the wedding venue could be VERY hot.
It's also the Goodwood Festival of Speed so roads will be busy and no doubt also very hot.
Yikes!
We are home for our regularly scheduled programme of indoor entertainment under the air con.
This afternoon I intend to watch the tennis before heading off to an event at our book festival this evening. I'm trying to make the most of having a lazyish day, the weekend will be manic.
Enjoy the wedding @MrsBeaky. I am trying to work out what to wear tomorrow that is both cool and comfortable and works with working at a book festival event, then the official opening of an art exhibition, followed by a formal church service for a local charity.
Two are being released today - into our garden! Part of our garden is dog-free so they will be fine.
They're in cardboard boxes in our hall at the moment, fast asleep. I will release them at dusk. Two girls - I think the hog we already have is a boy so he might be rather pleased. 🦔🦔
Hedgehogs need to be able to roam freely through various gardens so it's important to have access points. This is a video of ours arriving under the fence a couple of nights ago.
https://youtu.be/jzZ_z7UkUMM?is=QDisN-JCotNAeXun
On a slightly related note, my YouTube feed is constantly giving me short videos of Beavers (mostly rescued animals AIUI) enjoying their cabbage, sweet potatoes, bananas, strawberries etc. - though I wouldn't care to risk my fingers near teeth that can fell trees...
Still hot (78F) in Arkland the Parched, despite an easterly breeze. I think the constant heat is beginning to affect me, as every movement now seems to tire me out, though perhaps it's partly due to increased humidity.
The garden fences on our estate are meant to have hedgehog access points but I haven't found one yet. I suspect it may be hidden in a corner behind some (currently very overgrown) vegetation.
Here at Casa Nen we are all about trying to minimise the heat in a house built to retain it. We spend ages wandering around checking all the room thermometers, reporting the figures to each other and debating when to open or close doors, windows, curtains... there's currently a slight breeze outside so we have dared to open our study windows.
In other news, some friends came over today for coffee and kindly took us out to lunch. I had fish and chips because (1) they do it so well at that pub and (2) Friday. We then drove through the village, showed them the church, village hall, etc, and had a very short, very hot, very slow walk along the canal. A boat obliged by going through the lock just as we were passing it. Canal boats make me think of you @Bishops Finger .
I suggested to Reverend Mother that back at St Beuno's College, where they were staying the night before journeying back south, they would be spending a quiet evening with their feet up to recover; no, she corrected me gently: they would be spending it in prayer.
More Ann Griffiths to come on Sunday, with an evening singing her hymns in Llanfihangel yng Ngwynfa, the place of her burial, and then a Gymanfa Ganu in August.
That sounds wonderful.
We shared a load of delicious tapas, drank quite a lot of wine, and on the way back to the station stopped to pay our respects to the Duke of Wellington, Copenhagen (his horse) and the wee Scottie dog sculpture beside them, all suitably bedecked with traffic cones, as is Right and Proper.
It was certainly very warm, but bearable; I wonder if my inner thermostat has been reset so that I can tolerate more heat than I used to? 🤔