Light nights

It's what - a fortnight till the longest day? A magical time of year, if only the weather plays ball. With the high pressure that's controlling things at the moment, we had a wonderfully clear sky last night - and I was so late in going to bed that I was still pottering around at almost 1am when I noticed that the sky was still light in the north-west. So this photo is the result of my hanging precariously from an upstairs window at 12.45am, and quite clearly shows the light sky behind St John's spire, as well as a single star that was probably a planet in the darker sky to the right of the photo.

I didn't stay awake long enough to watch the dusk segue into the dawn, but I know from experience that for the next four weeks or so, given a clear night, that is what will happen.

Not easy, when you don't like to draw the bedroom curtains at night ...