Summer - It's Official

I thought of writing Summer Is Icumen In but I thought it sounded like a channel on Pornhub, actually it's an old folk song.

Wild roses are out all over



So are lupins

Walked up the lane today where the wild roses are in full flower, and got back just before the rains started.

The garden roses are all coming out too. Climbing Iceberg has been going since April - it barely stopped flowering by Christmas. That came with the house, as did an unnamed and very vigorous pink one. I think along with the Clematis Montana that went crazy this year it's got its roots down to where the bodies are buried. I didn't prune it so have to view the flowers from upstairs.

Alexander is a stunning scarlet but my yellow one died, poor thing never did well except at collecting black spot and mildew. I also put in Blanc Double de Couvert which my father had for years, but mine took a lot less time than his to die off and turn into an actually very spectacular wild rose which emanated from the rootstock.

The saddest loss was Fragrant Cloud. Mother took a cutting from the one in her mother's rose garden, and it grew very successfully. She took several more cuttings from them and put them around the garden, and when we moved we dug one up and brought it with us. That didn't last long, so I bought a replacement, which also died, and a second replacement which died too, so after that I gave up.

My Mother's Rose Bush was a transcription for piano by Bartok, who along with Zoltan Kodaly used to record Hungarian folk songs on a wire recorder. I couldn't find his version but the original is on YouTube in several versions



I always have a little sniffle when I listen to it.

Elsewhere the barley is starting to go golden, I predict combines will be rolling by the end of the month, though yields may not be up to much. Some of the pea crop looks like an epic fail too, it's usually a precision enterprise where the farmers are told when to sow, so the crop ripens in a rolling wave which keeps the freezer factory and the picking crews more or less evenly loaded through the season, but the later plantings just haven't germinated due to the drought.

I love roses and I also like the Clematis Montana ... I can remember my Dad saying it must be pruned back hard, never be afraid to cut it because it will grow - and grow they do!

The David Austin English Roses are always amazing - so many different colours and fragrances to choose from.
Many garden centres have areas dedicated to them ...
http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/type/english-roses

Thought your video had many great photo's to see ...

It certainly isn't Summer today with howling wind and heavy rain - perhaps tomorrow the sun will shine.

All the best Jan

More like November here heavy persistent rain and strong winds some trees down, it's chilly as well temp in car showing just eleven degrees when you add in the wind chill factor 

Summer it certainly IS NOT !!!

Today has been quite chilly and it really felt like the heating should have gone back on - but we resisted, and just put a thicker layer on.
My summer blouses are still hanging in the wardrobe ...

All the best Jan

Better day still cool but at least it was dry and the sun came out   more rain on the way though 

Yes it blew a real hoolie here with heavy and constant rain all day and all night.

I thought it was clearing up today, at least the sun came out, but while walking down the Thoroughfare we were hit by what felt like a tornado. The board outside the veg shop blew over, as did one of the tables outside the cafe, and I nearly did too.

After that it calmed down a lot but was still pretty windy and now the rain is back.

Rained all day again   I know the south east was sunny and watching the England match at Hamden Park it was also sunny there

Can't make its mind up here, today was sunny but windy. I drove down the other road lined with rhododendrons (did the other one last week) and they are magnificent, mostly now wild-type ponticums - mauve - but still a few different coloured ones in between.

Some spectacular gardens, including especially roses, in the villages I've driven through recently. A magnificent indigo delphinium made me weep, whenever I've tried growing them they disappear inside the slugs in no time flat.

Some recent fun with our youngest grand-daughter, who is such a sweetheart, but how she got so messy eating a delicious chocolate cake we didn't like to ask - but it was a hot day - so I think the chocolate was quite soft! LOL!

This time of year there are school fairs and fund-raisers galore and she bought hers from a PTA cake stall raising money for her school, so it was for a good cause.

"Grandma have you got some wet-wipes please" LOL!

All the best Jan

Looking forward to a hot sunny weekend   not to forget the Summer Solstice is nigh and its all down hill from there 

But we only had the shortest day a couple of weeks ago!

Hot, hot, hot today ... perhaps it will be a nice cup of iced tea later ... or a chilled white wine.
It is quite frightening that the Summer Solstice will soon be here - time goes so quickly.

Sat for a while this morning watching Trooping of the Colour ... the fly past was good
I think about five guardsman fainted in the heat, not sure if any of the crowd were affected by the heat, there were big crowds watching.

Hope everyone is managing to keep cool

All the best Jan

As with so many other things too numerous to mention, extremes of heat and cold no longer affect me as badly as they did.

Bad year for pollen though, I've been blowing my nose and picking yellow crusts off my eyelashes as soon as I wake up, and washing the windscreen every time I get in the car.

First Hollyhocks coming out now, among other things too numerous to mention. Along with Snowdrops they must be our county's national flower.

I saw a weird flypast the other day. A Hercules appeared to be trying to copulate with a kind of Hercules on steroids. I suspect it was doing aerial photography from close up. The other one appears to be a military Airbus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A400M_Atlas

didn't realise they made military stuff, but of course it's an expanding market. They'll be producing insulin next.

Talking of flypasts ... my favourite Ariel display are the red arrows, and I have seen them on a few occasions.


The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams that had been sponsored by RAF commands.
The Red Arrows have a prominent place in British popular culture, with their aerobatic displays a fixture of British summer events. The badge of the Red Arrows shows the aircraft in their trademark diamond nine formation, with the motto Éclat, a French word meaning "brilliance" or "excellence".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Arrows

much more on their main web site here

https://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/

Weather still very hot - another salad tonight I think  

All the best Jan

Oh yes, seen (and heard!) them a few times. My all time favourite has to be the Battle Of Britain memorial flight - a Lancaster flanked by a Spitfire and a Hurricane - the sound of all those Rolls Royce Merlin engines is exhilarating. Sometimes I'd see them pass overhead - they were (are?) based at an RAF station around these parts and would fly off to display elsewhere. Also I used to see AND HEAR the last remaining Vulcan

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/history.html

now I fear permanently grounded like Concorde.

I keep forgetting to mention the scent of new mown hay which is available on several farms now.

I would have liked the opportunity to have flown on Concorde ...
I think it looked (and was) a brilliant plane ...


Certainly hot summer temperatures again, with dress codes at Royal Ascot being relaxed, and apparently the TUC have asked that:

"With the temperatures set to hit 30°C tomorrow (Wednesday) in the South East, and the mid to high 20°Cs in other parts of England and Wales, the TUC is calling on employers to temporarily relax workplace dress codes to help their staff work through the heatwave as comfortably as possible. 

The sudden increase in temperatures means that many workplaces may become unbearably hot, warns the TUC. While there is a legal limit below which workplace temperatures should not fall (16°C), most people may be surprised to learn there is no upper limit.

For many years the TUC has been pushing for a change in safety regulations to introduce a new maximum temperature of 30°C – or 27°C for those doing strenuous work – with employers obliged to adopt cooling measures when the workplace temperature hits 24°C.

This week employers can help their staff by allowing them to leave their more formal office attire at home, says the TUC, as the most simple way for staff to keep cool inside when it’s scorching outside is for them to be able to come to work in more casual clothing.

Bosses who provide cool and comfortable work environments will get more out of their staff when it’s sweltering, says the TUC. Workers who are unable to dress in cool summer clothing and who work where there is no air-conditioning, fans or cold drinking water will feel lethargic, and lack inspiration and creativity."

https://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace-issues/health-and-safety/relax-workplace-dress-codes-help-staff-cope-week%e2%80%99s-heatwave-says


But there is a definite hit with summer though

British Strawberries you can't beat them, and I just happen to have some in the fridge with a pot of Cornish Double Cream ... Yum!

Keep as cool as you can !

All the best Jan

Weathers on the turn here it's been hot but mostly overcast with an odd spot of rain, in the past hour I've heard thunder in the distance and the winds picking up  

It's been to hot for gardening of late but I did manage to get the grass cut today  

After doing some prolonged walks saturday and sunday I took monday off, didn't even go to the shops. I had a siesta so prolonged that after I went to official bed I didn't sleep for long, so went out in the woods at the crack of sparrowfart to hear the tail end of the dawn chorus and watch newts in the pond.

(Ken Livingstone - "This is my pet lizard, Tiny. I call him that because he's my newt")

Then I had a long sit at the Hen Reedbeds where I failed to see any Bitterns again, but loads of other things, and chatted to various people from around these parts and elsewhere, reminiscing about how bird populations have changed over our lifetimes among other things, and did the shopping in the way home before it got too hot again.

Yesterday I did the supermarket and went for a long drive but couldn't drag myself out for a much needed walk.

Today was much cooler and there was a huge thunderstorm, but no nearby strikes, while some guys thrashed the garden within an inch of its life. I will probably go through the shower soon, I haven't been bothering as the sweat has been washing off all the crud.

I used to see the prototype Concordes flying from Filton in Bristol where one of the factories was, and saw almost the last one - they could only take off from Heathrow with a full load but could land at Gatwick and used to fly down regularly, take a look and fly back again, just in case there was ever a need for an emergency landing. I hoped they might keep one flying for historical purposes but sadly no, so I never went on it either.

Thank goodness ...

It's been so much cooler today

I even got some dusting done

All the best Jan

Much cooler here had a decent sleep last night after a few uncomfortable nights 

graham64 wrote:Much cooler here had a decent sleep last night after a few uncomfortable nights 

Same here Graham,4 days of no sleep and sweating like a glass blowers arse...19 degrees with a breeze now and sleeping like a baby.

Paul1976 wrote:

graham64 wrote:Much cooler here had a decent sleep last night after a few uncomfortable nights 

Same here Graham,4 days of no sleep and sweating like a glass blowers arse...19 degrees with a breeze now and sleeping like a baby.

Jeez Paul I thought I spent too much time on social media, but I do stop posting when I am asleep Posted at 4.22 was that a late night or an early morning. We need to be told