Not a good one as hay fever has laid me low again. Had to go to Cambridge today and it was very very warm and I could feel my chest tightening up and sneezed so much that if there was an Olympic event in this I would have won the gold medal, no problem. So my errands were done as quickly as possible, back to the park and ride where I decided to sit in the car with door and windows open and rest before I tackled the M11. Home safe and spent the afternoon curled up on the sofa asleep as I find hay fever seems to sap me of all energy.
Around 6pm I went out for a brief walk and tramped around the lake to spot the swan family. See how they have grown. They have reached the gawky teenage stage now and are not so pretty as they were when tiny but still fascinating to watch and to see how their parents guard them against any visitors, either human or feathered.
We have just had an almighty storm, the sky darkened so much the lights had to be put on and down came the rain in torrents, lightening, thunder the lot. It has now moved away and the thunder is rolling far in the distance and the sky is clear and lighter with a washed out grey look. I have opened the window and the cool air and smell of wet earth is lovely and I hope that the pollen has been routed, even if only for a short time. I hate to be a misery but when I am suffering like this I scowl at the sun and smile at the wet. This spell only lasts a short time and my hay fever will stop as if by magic the day after the men's final at Wimbledon, which sounds silly but it is true.
Lots of lovely books arrived this week including two of the reprints that Bloomsbury are producing this year in consultation with readers and bloggers, and I have already read Henrietta's War, which was sheer delight from start to finish (I will blog about it tomorrow) and have The Brontes went to Woolworth's lined up ready to go. I used to have a copy of this somewhere, the Green Virago edition, but heaven knows where it has gone as I cannot trace it.
This is a very rambly post as I write about things as they pop into my mind and one thing I would like to mention is that I am currently watching re-runs of Grand Design, a programme which has been going some years now and revisiting some of the projects and builds that have been carried out. I have missed a lot of these and have dropped into the programme now and then, but one of the digital channels is showing whole swathes of them back to back and I have been catching up. Some of the houses built I loathe and think are dreadfully ugly, others I love and the one I have just watched while the storm was raging was a house built entirely of wood by a man who lived and worked in a forest. It had taken him years to get planning permission and it was hedged around by many restrictions, not least the fact that if he moved away the house would have to come down as it was linked to him and his business and lifestyle. This meant that it was not a financial asset but this did not worry him as he had every intention of staying there the rest of his life. It was really quite beautiful to watch him work the wood and every single bit of the house was built with timber that he had cut down, cut to fit, and used and I sat here simply staggered at the dedication and love he showed for the entire process.
This is what is fascinating about this programme – whether I like the final build or not is immaterial, it is just amazing to see the determination, never ending energy and sheer skill of those who have decided to build their homestheir way. I like doing painting and decorating and making my home look nice, but climbing on a roof and fitting tiles in a snow storm and still retain a sense of humour and enthusiasm, no way. I can only sit back and admire.
I will be doing the Prize Draw tomorrow for Maggie Dana's book, Beachcombing so if you have yet to put your name in, then add it to the comments on this post and I will make sure you go into the pot.
Sorry for the ramble folks but I am going to bed early and hope that now that the air is cool and damp, I might get a good night's sleep and be bouncing around like Tigger tomorrow….
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