Well, the ‘ber’ months are here. And it’s official, a lot of us have just puffed (and moaned) our way through the warmest summer on record - although, despite the four heat waves, no temperature records were broken. The highest temperature this year was 36 degrees (in Kent), quite a way below the highest temperature in 2022 of 41 degrees. I remember that well. We actually took a day off work due to the heat.

Whilst many are predicting long hot summers will become the norm, a report published last month by Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute, advises that, ‘we can now expect events such as this every 6 years instead of every 60.’ So maybe us cloud lovers will be spared until 2031. The boys (I use the term loosely, as they can all touch 60 on the nose) in work are adamant that it will rain solidly next year to ‘make up for this year’, but if there’s one thing that’s certain about the weather – it’s that there is no certainties.

We are now in the first of the four ‘ber’ months. Already. I wonder what sort of weather they’ll bring. I just hope that it’s not too ‘rubbish’. Apologies for the tenuous link but, as the saying goes, ‘One (wo)man’s rubbish is another (wo)man’s treasure, ‘ and my most recent treasured find was a discarded chandelier in one of my client’s skips. I’m not really a chandelier type of girl – in the house, anyway - but I fitted some solar light bulbs into the holders and have hung it outside in the garden, where it looks really funky.

After admiring it, a friend found an inexpensive chandelier at Tescos (other supermarkets/stores are available) and has done the same. She is lucky enough to have a big tree to hang hers from, and has put it next to a swinging ‘egg chair’. It all looks fabulous and very Alice-in-Wonderland.

Also a bit Alice-in Wonderlandy are the beautiful glossy orange Lords and Ladies berries that Yogi and I have walked past each morning for the last few weeks. The Jury is out as to whether Lords and Ladies is a weed or garden plant. It can become invasive but that also makes it useful for heavily shaded areas where not much else will grow. It likes moist, fertile soil – which is the reason it does well under a dense tree canopy - and the blackbirds and thrushes love it’s bright orange berries at this time of year. Be warned though, whilst a delicacy for the birds, all parts of the plant are toxic to animals and humans.

I recently read that applications to Cirencester and other agricultural colleges are booming this year, thanks to Clarkson’s Farm. I haven’t seen the series, but have heard great things about it. Apparently, the interest in farming has been inspired by ‘land manager Charlie Ireland, the ever-affable bearer of bad news in Clarkson’s Farm.’ The irony that a ‘bearer of bad news’ has become an inspiration isn’t lost on me.

And finally, because I am still chuckling about a random comment this week, I just had to share. A neighbour’s grandson came into my cottage for the first time and I mumbled a half hearted apology about ‘the mess’ – in my defence we hadn’t had rain for months and therefore house work had been elusive. He simply shrugged and replied, “Knowing you, your lifestyle and the work that you do, if your house had been immaculate I would have thought you had probably murdered someone and cleaned up the evidence.’

So comical and yet so astute.