| Fri 1 | Monthly admin day again, and no sooner to clear one set of papers off the desk than two more arrive. Finally got to see some desk about teatime. |
| Sat 2 | In the garden mid-afternoon, and a noise overhead. Looking up there’s a red kite and a gull, quite low, and I’m not sure who was escorting which off the premises. The kite was surprisingly bigger than the gull; absolutely majestic. |
| Sun 3 | I seem to have spent all day writing my Chairman’s monthly update for the doctors’ patient group members – there was a never-ending list of healthcare items this month. |
| Mon 4 | Following last week’s diabetes check-up, doctor and nurse not happy. Increase statins. No alcohol for a week. Hrmph! |
| Tue 5 | I’m writing yet again. Today I’m working on a presentation about the places Anthony Powell lived, which I’ll probably end up giving later in the year. |
| Wed 6 | Blimey. What a day. I’ve lost count of how many members of the government have resigned today – but it is far more than there should be members of the government to start with, which says a lot about our rotten to the core system. |
| Thu 7 | It’s no wonder my PC refused to start this morning, and needed a helpdesk call. Johnson resigning is enough to frighten even inanimate objects, especially as his successor will likely be even more dangerous. |
| Fri 8 | One of the three pupae collected from the garden a couple of weeks ago has hatched into a large “house fly”. Not sure how you get something that size from a small pupa.  |
| Sat 9 | The day for a haircut. Now really short again. So much more comfortable in this heat. And it’s due to get hotter. |
| Sun 10 | What a good thing there’s nothing pressing to do today. Awake at 04:00 and 07:30. Next I know it’s 11:30! What happened there? |
| Mon 11 | Part of what happened there was that I’d put my back out. Hopefully I’ve managed to settle it down and it is now just muscular. If not I shall have to find me a new osteopath. |
| Tue 12 | It’s coming to something when the experts can’t even vaguely agree. Tonight’s weather: BBC says 1-2% chance of rain at any time tonight; Met Office say 40-50% chance of rain in the 2 hours around midnight. We had a few heavy spots just before 20:00. |
| Wed 13 | This morning, a pile of feathers in the bedroom doorway. Just feathers; oh and a foot. No sign of a bird. No sign of a corpse. Has it been hidden or eaten? Guess we’ll find out when it starts smelling. |
| Thu 14 | I was wondering why my morning fasting blood sugar levels had suddenly dropped about 10 days ago. Looks like it might be the hot weather. Who would have guessed this is a thing? |
| Fri 15 | Another good insect day, after yesterday’s butterflies (which I blogged about). Today a Jersey Tiger Moth. Yes, they’ve spread from Jersey to the south coast (I first saw one in Lyme Regis about 20 years ago) and are gradually moving north. I’ve seen one here most years for the last 6 or 8. They’re absolutely stunning; and quite large.  |
| Sat 16 | Having bemoaned the lack of the usual butterflies this year, today saw a beautiful red admiral feeding on the buddleia. It was, of course, camera shy. |
| Sun 17 | Saw the Lebanese guy next door this evening – first time in ages, so had a good long chat about everything from the eldest’s career aspirations to his plans to extend the house. His wife and 3 boys are in Lebanon for the summer. |
| Mon 18 | Scorching day! Walking down the garden this evening we disturbed four, yes four, Jersey Tiger moths (red wing morph) in the woodland glade. All flying together; absolutely stunning! There’s something they obviously like here. |
| Tue 19 | In more insect news … this morning an Oak Bush Cricket in the bathroom. Unfortunately N put it outside before I could catch it and work out exactly which species. |
| Wed 20 | A pleasantly cooler day with a refreshing breeze. The last 2 days have been unbearable, but we did have some heavy rain late last evening (not enough though) and it cooled a lot overnight. But still warm enough for a Peacock butterfly on the buddleia at lunchtime. |
| Thu 21 | Annual trip to the optician resulted in new glasses for me: £800 after the 20% discount! N escaped the rape of the credit card. We were there all morning chatting to the young lady dispenser. |
| Fri 22 | I don’t understand supermarket deliveries. You book a 1 hour slot. Often they arrive during the slot; occasionally they’re late; but not infrequently they’re early – like an hour early, as this morning – and catch you on the hop. |
| Sat 23 | Small but successful AP Soc. pub meet over Zoom. While it would be nicer to have real meets, using Zoom does allow those outside London, and especially outside UK, to participate – which is good. |
| Sun 24 | Picked the first crop of runner beans. They’re quite early as they’re last year’s plants which I’ve over-wintered, so got a head start. They were very tasty (cooked & cold) in salad.  |
| Mon 25 | Two afternoons spent making zero progress on my family history: chasing Austens in Kent. Yes, that’s Jane Austen’s family. There are Austens everywhere; all the men seem to be called John, George or William; and they’re everything from baronets & surgeons to AgLabs. Can’t find a link to JA, but that’s hardly surprising given their proliferation. |
| Tue 26 | A day of pushing jelly uphill through treacle with a toothpick. Everything took forever, not helped by being decidedly sleep short. |
| Wed 27 | Sorry guys, I ducked this evening’s meeting. I just couldn’t face the endless waffle, especially knowing who was chairing it. |
| Thu 28 | Oh God! More unnecessary, costly and over-hyped circus acts. Commonwealth Games. Gah! |
| Fri 29 | It happens every week! By the time we get to Friday afternoon I’m firmly convinced it’s Saturday. And I cannot work out why. Guess I’m just going soft in the head. |
| Sat 30 | Uncomfortably warm & sticky to go with a day of depression, anxiety and inability. No wonder I think it’s Sunday. |
| Sun 31 |  Today is the day we put out the wasp traps for the first of this year’s Big Wasp Survey slots. Two traps containing 200ml of lager, at different points of the garden, for 7 days.
As always it’ll be interesting to see what we catch, although I doubt we have any of the specific target species here; more likely to get the commoner ones in early September. I can’t believe this is the sixth year of Big Wasp Survey! |
