Visitors!

I was wakened by the sun in my face this morning, insanely early (I forgot to pull the right-hand curtain last night), and it stayed sunny until teatime before a haze grew into the cloud covering that I think is tomorrow's forecast. The pollen warning was 'High" for today and "very high" for the next couple of days, but I was determined to finish off the hydrangeas, so after hanging out a washing, including two tablecloths, I found myself once again in the very middle of the taller bush hacking desperately at tall dead heads. Eventually we got the wee step-ladder out ...

After lunch I treated myself to a seat in the garden (the back, away from the hydrangeas) while I did  my Italian, and I was just thinking it felt a bit like summer when I was aware of smoke drifting over the garden in the southerly wind ... Not the Neighbour from Hell this time, but a competitor for the title who lives a few doors round the crescent and who till now has chiefly been noticeable for the ghastly ruination of his front garden, when he solved the problem of his overgrown hedge, which was beginning to obstruct the pavement, by hacking it all down and piling it in raggedy ramparts along the wall. Now he was burning it. I scampered to retrieve the dry washing and that was that - it was impossible to sit outside without choking. (Please supply your own expletives here ...)


Then we were off, back up to the church for Evensong, Choral Evensong, performed by other people! It was quite a thing to sit in the pews while a visiting choir filled the church with sound - the choir of St John's Princes Street, in Edinburgh, who apparently usually go to the Cathedral of The Isles for their Low Sunday jolly. For various reasons this isn't feasible this year, so someone suggested coming here, just up the Firth ...The organist turned out to have played in a band with my younger son, back when all the world was young and carefree and there were no grandchildren. They're coming back to the service in the morning, when they'll sing an anthem at Communion, thereby letting me off the hook. Just as well, with all that pollen floating around.

I have an open case with a few things dumped on it just now, but am once more too tired to think. Sufficient unto the day is the packing thereof ...