The weather and garden are changing. Makes me a little melancholic – I don’t want the summer to be over. Most of all, I don’t want the days to get shorter. It is still warm and sunny, but we’ve been getting some showers as well. For now they keep the garden green, so I’m not complaining. And it’s still warm enough for impromptu meals in the garden: bread and cheese brought back from a daytrip to Arras . Simple and délicieux.

Lilly is also enjoying her summer, chasing butterflies and climbing every tree in the garden. Must have been a commando in a former life.

No better remedy for the end of summer blues than some comfort reading. Crampton Hodnet is delightfully English and very, very funny. Thank God for Barbara Pym.