Tuesday 19th July 2022 - Tasks, 1976 and Sensible Dog Owners

After a bit of fiddling, which involved remounting, Peter has successfully installed the new satellite dish. Not that we are watching much TV at the moment but it will come into its own in the winter months and far better to replace now, in the good weather, than have the dish fail when it is cold and windy. This morning, I have provided Peter with another task. The current heatwave has presented me with the ideal opportunity to wash our quilted patchwork bedspread. What I didn’t bank on was, having got the damp bedspread on the washing line, a feat in itself, for the main body of the retracting line to detach itself from the wall mounting, dropping the bedspread, across the flower border, path and grass. Our neighbour’s gardener was working in her garden, so I moderated my language! Fortunately, I didn’t need to put it back in the washing machine and Peter has been able to repair the retracting line’s body.

The media have been covering little else other than the heatwave. It’s only going to last two days and yet you would think it was like 1976. That was the year the hot weather kicked off in May and went on right into summer, with little or no relief. Temperatures did not achieve the current highs but were very wearing and with no significant reduction at night, made it difficult to sleep. But I am in no way down playing the current heatwave which has resulted in wildfires and people have lost their homes to the flames. My heart goes out to those who have lost pretty well everything.

We were up at five thirty this morning, and took advantage of a walk along the beach while temperatures were still comfortable. Some very sensible dog owners were on the sands exercising their dogs before it got too hot. We watched people taking a plunge in the sea and a family had launched their inflatable dinghy. Inflatables can be dangerous when it is windy and the tide is going out, but with little wind and the tide on the turn and starting to come back in, this was probably as safe a scenario as anyone could hope for. We did our usual morning litter pick and were heartened as to how little there was, considering we are now entering peak tourist season. The bins have been full and overflowing, as seen in the photo, which we hope is indicative that the message is getting through to, leave only footprints on the beach. I mustn’t forget to say thank you to a visitor who is staying in the village and who messaged me at the weekend about a decomposing seal on the beach. I in turn messaged the District Council who on Monday confirmed they had informed their contractors and it would be removed. No sign of the seal this morning so either it has been cleared, or it was under the pile of stones at the end of the revetments. Back home I watched the butterflies in our garden, spotting a white letter hairstreak on a lily flower. As they usually frequent tree tops, this was totally unexpected; I felt privileged that it had graced our garden.

As well as the photo of the bin and rubbish at the bottom of the access road from Clifton Way, I have also included a shot of the beach which was so quiet and tranquil this morning, plus one of a jelly fish; this is quite small compared to others I have seen and one which I am unable to identify.