Cornish Pasty Blog

Summer is broken

Well, I think I was just getting used to sleeping in hot weather, when the time came for the Wimbledon tennis tournament. As most British people will tell you, Wimbledon means liquid sunshine. If you can see the net it's about to rain, if you can't see the net it's already raining!

How is it that I can get accustomed to hot weather within the first day or so when we go to Corfu, yet in the UK it came be weeks. I get caught out every year guessing how long the fine spell will last. I continue carrying a fleece or waterproof for at least a week longer than I need, but better to be prepared - no, I was never a scout (from my teens I always thought I would have had more fun joining the guides - they wouldn't let me in). The waterproof was as much to protect my mobile gear as anything. I carry my x51v in my shirt's top pocket, if I don't think that I will be doing a lot of bending, or in my trousers pocket and the waterproofr, breathable jacket will just protect from excessive moisture. The other hazard I have noticed is that sweat can mist up the case when suited up on a warm but wet day; not a problem sbo far but worth keeping an eye on.

I am out of doors as I type this. I caught the bus home tonight and thought it was warm on board, when outside it was a little chilly. From how I felt when I got back to the village, I worked out that it was exhaust that was getting into the interior that was the cause of the warmth. I don't have a sense of smell and so endured the discomfort. I was puzzled by how the driver would stop the bus every so many stops and turn off the engine; buses I have travelled on previously would stop if early but they wouldn't turn off the engine. My head was splitting when I walked the short distance to the cottage from the bus stop, I also felt a little sick. I decided that exhaust must have been to blame. Fortunately for me, the weather holds the promise of rain but, so far, has held off. It's a little chilly but the fresh air is doing me a power of good. If I turn around to face away from the kitchen, I can see some blue sky between high cloud.

While I am writing I am circled by bumble bees of several different types; it's good to see them taking advantage of the cool air and the opening fuscias.

From here I can see the apple tree planted by an Uncle over 70 years ago. Every year the tree has produced a crop of apples in September but the apples are so well formed already I think they will be at least a month early, could this be one of those signs of the fltuctuations encouraged by global warming?

I have been typing for a while sitting at a bench table and my back is starting to get a little tired.. I will have to look into getting out my fairly substantial deckchair and bring out my lap tray on another day.

I just watched Warner Crocker's what's in my bag video and it made me think of my laptray. I prefer the bean bag base for getting settled on my lap and allowing me to use it on many more seat types. Of course, I am using a Pocket PC rather than tablet computer and need less room room for this Stowaway keyboard, although I have used the laptray with my old laptop that heats up so much; I put a metal tray, designed to speed up the defrosting process for things like meat, under the laptop so that part of it sticks out and rapidly transfers the heat from the base of the laptop to the part of the tray sticking out so it can be dissipated.

I am going to pop in now and spend a lit tle time with my dear wife, who cooked my tea and then suggested I spend time outside to get some fresh air - she's a gem, I have got so much done while out here. As per Scoble's comments on his blog, I was able to listen to podcasts\videocasts while eating, reading blogs I find a little ungainly on a small screen while trying to eat in a polite manner.

The seagulls begin to circle, definitely time to head indoors.