Brighter ...

It's so good when a day begins in sunshine, as today did, even though by 11am the rain was battering down again. I found myself looking out of the kitchen window as I washed up after breakfast, noticing the rampantly sprouting rosa rugosa and thinking I really ought to prune them before they take over again. However, it was cold and the rain wasn't far off, so instead I concentrated on removing mildew from grout and silicone seals. The reason for this unwonted outburst of housewifely endeavour was my recent purchase of one of these products that keep flashing up on Facebook; I acquired two tubes with some enticing money off and the stuff actually works. The best bit of it is that you just squirt it on and then leave it for a couple of hours. No, I'm not advertising and no, I won't do a wee dance in my pinny. 

When we were contemplating a walk later, Himself chanced to check the weather app and spotted a window in the likelihood of precipitation down towards Rothesay, so we headed south and had a decent walk along the coast road and out the Ardyne. We were about to turn back when I took the photo; it shows the convoluted mouth of the Ardyne Burn, hugely changed this year with the multiplicity of sandbanks, the tail end of Bute, and down past the Cumbraes. It also shows the litter of tree trunks and other debris on the beach, which in places is covered in this debris washed down in a recent storm. Further along the beach, there is practically no sand left but new sandbanks off shore, suggesting that the retreating waves lifted all the sand off the beach and deposited it just offshore. It was peaceful and warm out of the wind; I took my heavy waterproof off for the walk back because I got so hot. Only 7ºC, but felt considerably higher.

Off to bed now, scunnered at what I saw on the news of the policing of the women's #reclaimthestreets vigil in London. We can't go on treating people like this.