BACK FROM HOLIDAY

We had a great time in the Lakes. For the nth year in a row, we had fantastic weather, with no rain at all. Last Friday we went up Scafell Pike, at 978 metres the highest peak in England, by the Corridor Route, and it was baking. So it was a bit of a relief when Saturday was cloudy. After cycling and walking in sunny weather, my legs now look a bit like Neapolitan ice cream; vanilla white on the ankle and at the top of the thigh, and brown in between.

Being on holiday, I took the opportunity to grow a beard, something I haven't done for 20 years. Unlike the last effort, it turned out to be quite salt-and-pepper like. My sister-in-law, she who normally cuts my hair, said it suited me, so I may keep it for a while. 

Not much has happened in the kitchen garden while I was away; though I think I can see the first potatoes beginning to poke up through the soil. My new grass area has taken hold, however, which is good. Tomorrow I'll do some weeding and mowing.

As usual, I bought a lot of books in England. Plus I took back one of my mother's three jars of Roses lime marmelade. I am already looking forward to having some on my toast tomorrow morning.

Walter Blotscher