A Summer's Day

The temperature today soared to a blistering 80°F. Old people are dropping like flies; the St John’s Ambulance Brigade are stationed outside Tesco’s to revive shoppers emerging from the air-conditioned comfort to the merciless furnace outside. ☺
 
Oh England, your pleasures are simple, your demands few: a rainless day with sunshine dappling the path through the canopy of the trees, and all’s well with the world. 

Scooby

A morning working in the garden culminates with a very satisfying bonfire. With my clothes still smelling of smoke, I take Scooby down to the river for a swim, crossing the fields on paths freshly cut through the tall grass. Walking along the shady banks of the River Taw, Scooby chases every stick I throw, splashing gleefully through the shallow water, swimming in the deeper stretches. In the distance, I can hear the hourly train on the Tarka Line clattering by on tracks that still go “clickety-clack”, bound for Exmouth. The fragrance of wild peppermint hangs in the still, warm air.And afterwards, a cool pint outside the pub while Scooby dries off, lying, still panting, on his side in the shade.