Sod waiting to hear the first cuckoo

I know summer has arrived when I come across a Hocking's ice cream van.

I know they have been out and about for a while now, since February in Westward Ho! a friend reliably informed me today but for those of us a little further afield it does speak of summer.

Mind you, you know it's really high summer (or very, very warm) when one is parked outside Sainbury's in Barnstaple. Mind you, that leads to spending the whole shopping expedition telling oneself that an oyster ice cream is not really needed. Which is a lie.