Pinks at the Estuary

I went swimming today at the estuary. The weather has continued to be glorious and it was lovely and warm. Even better, the water was noticeably warmer than the last time I went swimming in the sea in May. I had a really good swim, while James sat in a deckchair on the grass beside the water and read his paper. The grass was all covered in pinks, which have a delicate sweet smell. Oh the swim was so good! It’s quite shallow where you go in (depending on how high the tide is) but there’s a deeper channel along the side of the golf course where you can swim proper “lengths.” As well as the swim itself being enjoyable, the views all around of mountains and the loch are stunning. I felt restored.

This is the last day of the Jubilee weekend. Last night we watched the “Party at the Palace.” We had stayed outside in the garden until the evening so we watched the concert on catch-up which meant that we could fast-forward through the performances in which we were not interested. I enjoyed the concert, which was a seemingly random mixture of older and younger acts, with many old favourites such as Queen (well of course!) and Diana Ross, who looked very good at 78! There was even a section of songs from West End musicals, it was a real mix, but enjoyable. The Queen didn’t manage along because of her mobility problems but apparently she watched it on television in Windsor Castle. She had filmed a neat little introduction with Paddington Bear during which she produced a marmalade sandwich from her handbag! It was surprisingly touching. 

This afternoon there was a Jubilee Pageant through the streets of London, but the weather was too good to stay inside to watch it. However we saw later on the news that the Queen had been able to appear on the balcony at its conclusion, while the huge crowds around the palace and in the Mall sang “God Save the Queen.” She looked so small and frail, but she waved and smiled. Among the crowd were Ally and Cat, just returned from a brief trip to Scotland to attend a wedding. I’m proud that they were there on such a historic day, which I’m sure that they will always remember.