Summer Time

The sun shone today! And, I didn't have to be at work early, so I could hang out at home and play on the wii with Sophie, and see her and her two friends off to school before I walked in to work. (Our house is sort of a staging post; because it's so close to school two of her friends are dropped off here in the mornings, and the three of them walk down together.) Only, at the moment, they're all riding their bicycles to school, as it's Cycling Proficiency Week. It's a really nice programme; they step the kids through a very sensible set of road-safety guidelines, and they get to practice each day in the school grounds and (brave instructors!) on the roads as well.

Bobby and I went for a bike ride as well, after dinner tonight. I love the long summer evenings here; we went out at about 7.30 and were back at 8.45 and it was still daylight. We visited the swans in the park...





... and then cycled up to the Castle grounds. There's not much actual castle left - just a funny little triangular thingy sticking up from the ground (the archway in the picture is much more modern; it dates back to 17-something, whereas the castle remnants date back to 1150-ish), but the gardens are lovely.





We came home past some allotments - pieces of land you can rent from the council to grow your own veggies. Becoming increasingly more popular as the price of food continues to soar.





Tomorrow's going to be a change of pace; I'm joining the rest of the commuters for a day in London - at the Hyde Park Hilton, no less! Nothing too exciting though, it's just a workshop on the new syllabus specification. Hope the tube isn't too horrible; I always forget how nasty it is during rush-hour.