Sunday

I've been to the seaside. I have, I have! I paddled in the Solent and watched the yachts and admired the Isle of Wight and everything!

It all started at breakfast (and a very nice breakfast it was too). What shall we do today before we go and visit The Builder's parents this afternoon? Let's go somewhere for a walk. Avebury? Find a National Trust or English Heritage park, garden or castle to explore? New Forest! Let's go to the New Forest. Even better, suggested The Builder, let's go through the New Forest to Lepe and have a walk there. And so we did.

England is very green. The little country roads are bestraddled with beautiful trees covered in their dark green mid-summer glory. The verges are all green as well. It's true that many of the fields are not, being covered in hay or corn or whatever (many of them were being harvested as we went past) but the avenues of trees covered us in green light and it was all very glorious. And sunny. Ever so sunny.

There were cows and ponies and ramblers wandering loose in the New Forest.

And so we reached Lepe. The last time I was there is was late December (2003, I think) and very very misty (you could barely see the Isle of Wight) and ever so cold. Not Sunday. Sunday was sunny and still and about 29d. While I was waiting for The Builder to get the binoculars from the car, I trundled off through the mudflats to the water. It was ever so warm. So The Builder picked his way gingerly through the mudflats (being in his proper shoes, for some reason) and I splashed in the sea (being in my surf shoes, much more sensibly) until we reached a spit of shingle and walked to its tip. Me in the water. We didn't have all that much time and in any case the tide was coming in -- but it was lovely to be unexpectedly splashing in the sea. The sea was all glittery in the sunshine. And children and dogs and old folks were splish splash sploshing as well.

Back to the car. The original idea had been to meet The Builders APs and take them out for lunch. But Mick has nasty emphesema and really doesn't like the warm weather on account of not being able to breathe. So we had abandoned that plan and arranged to meet them later. Lunch for us then. But not in the New Forest, oh no, no, no. We had intended to eat there, but the pubs we had in mind were all as full as full could be. Even though we were passing through just after 12. Oh well. Other pubs on the edge of the forest then. But no. They were all as full as full could be too. Hmm. Eventually we went to The Bull in Downton. Not full. Not full at all. And I don't really know why, because the roast beef melted as you ate it. The Yorkshire puddings were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. So were the roast potatoes. The veg were more than adequate. Had a pint of raher nice local cider. Was all excellent. Can't think why the pub was quite so empty. The regulars must have been out clogging up the pubs in the Forest!

Right. Onto Nunton and The Builder's parents. Mick really isn't well and can't leave the house in warm weather (and it eventually got to 31d which is very hot indeed in ENgland) and has a horrid, horrid cough. We worry about him quite a bit. Gwen was more or less all right, though she doesn't like hot weather much either and doesn't really enjoy being confined to the house day after day. We were there for longer than we usually stay, chatting and looking at the photos of the house and garden on the laptop and listening to "do you remember" stories. Then we relocated to Barb's place (much later than planned) to swap brassica seedlings (broccoli and cabbages from me, curly kale from her) and to sit in her garden in the sunshine and drink cava (or tonic water in The Builder's case for he was driving). And then we came home.

We got home quite late, really. The traffic was very heavy and slow in Wiltshire. Not too bad on the Fosse Way. But the motorways were iffy so we came back along A roads and in a roundabout sort of a way. Was very late by the time we eventually got to bed.

Have taken today off as a random flexiday. Was strangely reluctant to get up when the alarm went at quarter to six this morning. I shall go, this afternoon, and help The Builder pick fruit. Oh, and that man rang him back yesterday evening about the job in Lincolnshire. It looks as though he may get some work this week after all. Just as well. Our finances are beginning to look a wee bit tattered!