A wet day

It has rained softly all day - it has been damp and grey but not cold. When the woods are wet the russet colours of last season's fallen leaves and the bracken look more intense, and one seems to especially notice the colours and texture of the bark on the trees. Xena did not mind her damp walk today, at least it was not chucking down.

Nothing planned for Saturday, probably packing as on Sunday we leave to drive to Switzerland. We are only leaving in the afternoon after Gavin has finished his half marathon, which takes place in London on Sunday morning. Both Gavin and Luke are running to raise funds for Whizz Kidz, a charity that Gavin supports and has raised quite a bit of money for over the years. They help to mobilise disabled children. One year when he ran the London Marathon he managed to raise £8000 which was sufficient to buy a child a special wheel chair. Meriel is also running and her chosen charity is The Dogs Trust, which is the largest dog welfare charity in the UK. I hope they are not hampered by the XR protests, they have received a letter from the race organisers saying it could be a problem. That will be so wrong when the runners are all trying to do good for various charities.