It's been very warm here the last few days. Feels like it'll be a hot summer and indeed all weather forecasts suggest that'll be the case.
I've been hard at work around the place, waterblasting, painting, and tidying after winter's wear and tear, often accompanied by my feline friend Poppy (my next door neighbour's cat) who enjoys being in the thick of things with her Auntie Jane. Getting sprayed with water doesn't bother her and her inquisitive nature is not deterred by open paint cans that must be carefully sniffed and examined.
After my attempts at property maintenance, I treat myself to a good book and a cold drink, sitting in the garden that is now dry enough, and shady enough in all the right places, to make this an enjoyable hour or two. (At this point I have to say 'hooray for our local library!' up the road, providing me with books - real ones - and the service whereby one can order in books from other libraries, or go on wait lists for new ones, ensuring a grand supply or reading material).
I'm certainly not knocking e-books, not at all, but I still think there is nothing quite like a book, with pages, a cover, that one can actually hold in one's hands as a solid, tangible product of a writer's creativity and hard work.
At the moment I am reading My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell, a book that is most fitting to read in the garden surrounded by leafy trees, colourful flowers, fighter-jet tuis and fluttering fantails, and bees and other flying critters. This was required reading for us at school, can't quite remember when, but I remember enjoying it then as I am now. Durrell writes about his family's time on the island of Corfu, and all of the creatures and folk he encountered there. Durrell brings that world to us within the pages, adding the colour and feel of the place, and just the right amount of description to bring his characters to life. Setting and character are two of the most important elements of any story and he does a super job with both.
I hope over the summer you will take time to read, write, or relax in your favourite place. We've earned it after what has been a year of challenge, and we'll need it as we prepare for the year ahead.