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Summer At Last!

Emily and Poppi, June 2013.

After a run of hot days, it's fair to declare that summer has finally arrived.  Not to worry, the solstice is less than two weeks away, and it's almost a tradition that it pours with rain then.

As can be seen in the photo, our rhubarb is growing well.  In the black tub, to one side of the photo, is a small crop of garlic which isn't doing so well - the spindly leaves look yellowy, so I am wondering if the sun's been too fierce for them. 

This morning Richard and I went swimming again.  We're really getting into this, and had a lot of fun today.  I won the race!!!   There was only the two of us in the race, and he does have impaired breathing capacity...but it's the principle.  I won, I won!  This is also the first time in my entire life that I've ever won any race, come to think of it.  I was always hopeless at sports back in my school and college days - partly due to a total lack in interest in discovering who can run round in a big circle the fastest or jump over the highest stick.  I studied Shotokan Karate for a while, when I was aged around 16, and that was fun, but I could not summon any enthusiasm for playing hockey in weather so cold our legs would turn a bizarre reddish-purple.  Netball went over my head - literally, as most of the other students were taller than my 5' 1.5".

Anyway, back in the here and now, we've been having fun swimming.  The pool attracts quite a varied crowd, from parents with very young babies or toddlers, to the quite elderly - and some of these are by far the best swimmers of all the pool's users.  Last week, I watched a gentleman who must surely have been in his seventies, who swam length after length non-stop, gliding powerfully through the water with far more grace than I currently muster.  I'm still taking a break after each length, and needing it!  Still, I swam 26 lengths today, which is my 11th swim.  My record is 30, while Richard's is 20, but we'd both had enough.


Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi! Can you tell me when the next West Kirby Writers meeting is please?
No problem, Gavin - visitors are always welcome at Riverside Writers. We meet at 7.30pm, at West Kirby Library, Wirral, on June 24th.

Riverside Writers website: http://riversidewriterswestkirby.blogspot.co.uk/

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