Men at work and women who lunch

A good day on Saturday at the Flower Show. A few sales and lots of chats - in some cases with friends I haven’t seen for a long time. For the second year running, the weather was fantastic - no need for umbrellas or emergency covers for the books. Summer has definitely come.

And on the following day, we visited my cousin with other family, primarily to see another cousin visiting from Australia. Once again, we were able to sit out in the garden. The downside of all this relaxing in the sun was that by Monday, I had put in 2lbs through my lack of activity. Having watched my weight fall by that much during the previous week - a few painful ounces a day - it was irritating to see it on its way up again. One or two brisk walks are called for, but I have to devote the next few days to Goldenford accounts. Having dealt with the cheques paid out to anonymous recipients, I am now on the trail of money paid in by unidentified donors. If all else fails, I believe there’s a list somewhere in the office.

This weekend, we’re having the launch lunch for Irene’s new novel, Darshan - another great read from Irene, full of the flavour of India, although also partly set in Oxford. Hopefully, once again, we’ll be able to be in the garden. I know people are complaining it’s too hot, but I really appreciate a bit of genuine summer.

Today, I was out with a friend, lunching in a cosy little tea place (very Surrey) in Compton. Then we returned to her house and sat in her conservatory for a while. On my way back, I called into a local shop, who have very kindly taken some copies of Tainted Tree, and was delighted to hear there had been a couple of sales.

However, after that, it was somewhat downhill. M has been continuing with work in the utility room. Half the room has had new board put down to replace the rotten floor and he’s installed a new cabinet too. At one point, this morning, when he was adapting the cabinet to fit the room - sawing chunks off it in the garden - the air was filled with sawdust. It wasn’t a good place to be around, and I was pleased to manage to be out for a good part of the day. However, tonight M has discovered that another bit of the floor is rotten and giving away underfoot. This is not good news.