Summertime..

It's not just the temperature, the breeze is hot, like standing in front of a giant hairdryer.

All the day's boats went by before 8am, after that not a soul stirring.

 I spent a good chunk of the day in the library. Not air-conditioned, but cooler than the metal tube we are calling home. Also very much enjoyed Home Bargains, very cool, and will tour Lidl in due course.

But the breeze off the river is better than between buildings.

and there's a wren keeping me company as he patrols his patch.

I stopped off at the Basin and used the CRT showers.. flipping marvellous. Put things straight back on, no need to towel.. 

Back at base, turned on the air-conditioning 

and settled in with an aperitif 

Stir fry planned for when it's a little cooler.. might be eating quite late!

Tuesday 19th, even hotter. Got a pack of things to do and a packed lunch and headed straight to the library. Felt odd to be at a screen and keyboard again!

Early afternoon and the Council's computers went down..  too hot for the main server. By 4pm they were back on again but I was ready to go back. It was fully 40deg inside when I got back. Despite the solar panels doing their thing, the fridge has been sucking out a lot of juice, so I ran the engine for a bit to bolster the batteries.

20th, and cooler at last. Had a lovely phone call with Marc (Charlie too busy learning about an axe to chat) and then headed off to Hartlebury Common, a SSSI which boasts inland sand dunes among other things

and then to Hartlebury Castle. On the way, passed a fire crew, damping down chunks of the Common. Fag ends and drought hit grassland are not a good combo..

So, it did receive a licence to crenellate in 1340 odd and it has a moat, so, I suppose..

 The land was given to the Worcester Diocese in 940 for the Bishop to build himself a place, after the diocese had already been in existence for 300 years. The idea was for it to control the nearby ford across the Severn, as Wales was then independent, hostile and just on the other bank. Lots of history!  I innocently asked a question: what happened to the Tudor stained glass that Bish Perowne (1931-41) disliked and replaced? and it turned into a couple of historians coming down from their office and having a debate.. a lovely place and people so involved with and impassioned about it.

Back then, down the dunes,

To meet up with cousin Nick for a late lunch at the Bird in Hand. We are both wary of gluten, so asked for tuna salads, as advertised.  Oh, said the barmaid, we only do sandwiches but they come with a side salad.  Marvellous, we said, we'll have that but ditch the bread. And out came a couple of perfectly respectable tuna salads..

With Nick away, I had just enough time to trot into town to do some laundry. Absolutely squeezed in, literally calculating how much money I could put in the dryer before getting kicked out at 5pm. Just right, as it happened.

Another walkabout tomorrow so let's  get this instalment published..