Blue Skies and A Smile

There is a web site - a spin-off from a book - dedicated to loos with a view. 

This afternoon we whiled away some happy hours at a free mini-festival on a nearby farm. Donations to cover expenses; charity contributions for home-made cakes and ale; vegan BBQ run by friends and family; bands playing for fun on the back of a couple of borrowed trucks; trampoline for the many happy pre-teens

Someone played Wish You Were Here (pretty well; it's not easy), which has happy-sad associations from several points in my past, but yes, it was the sort of afternoon that you wished people were there

I followed signs to the 'eco urinal'. This turned out to be three or four old doors standing upright, far enough apart to stand between at the edge of the field, overlooking bindweed, nettles and burdock that now have several years' well-fertilised growth. Beyond, was a splendid view across the Stour valley, trees and hedgerows sharply-defined in the clear air and bright sun, the deep blue sky with just enough frothy cloud to perfect the scene. It's not the Taj or the Himalayas, but it's the best loo-view I've had this year

This morning I saw a Holly Blue butterfly. I learned that they have two flushes of emergence, one in spring and one in late summer. One cohort feeds on holly, the other on ivy. Now I will always remember when I sing the carol

Walking home we passed an enormous blue crane, parked up for the weekend. The sort of thing you only usually see building in cities. The crossroads above the village, where an attendant used to put petrol in our vehicle, is to become a cathedral for the worship of 'classic and performance' cars. I wish they were not there

I took pictures of all these things, but this one was taken as the band played, and sums up the simplicity of the day's pleasure