Organ Recital and Cornel’s 60th Birthday Dinner

We have had a really lovely day. We decided to go for a walk in the West End, starting with a bite to eat at the art galleries in Kelvingrove. Just as we walked in the door and organ recital started. This consisted of several classical pieces but also a fine rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. We stood and watched it until I managed to nab a table at the ground floor café, with an excellent view of the organ and two screens which showed the organists hands and feet working all the controls. James bought us coffee and scones, and we ate them while enjoying the music. The last part of the recital was a medley of ABBA songs which went down very well with the crowd. Then we went on a lovely walk up through Kelvingrove Park, through the University Quadrangles, and back to the car via Kelvingrove Way. 
In the evening we went to Cornel’s birthday dinner at the Dakota in Glasgow. There were about twenty of us and we were delighted to be invited. The dinner was excellent and the other guests were extremely pleasant and friendly; they hailed from different locations and different parts of Cornel and Heather’s life. Their two beautiful daughters Sarah and Liesl were of course there and Sarah gave a loving speech about her Dad. The time absolutely flew past and by the time we set off home we had missed the last train so walked to Gordon Street and queued for a taxi. James pointed out that there were seagulls flying from building to building high above the street, the underneath of their wings shining white in the darkness. No doubt they were looking out for some dropped chips from the fish suppers of the crowd of people below them. Very very drunk people for the most part! 

Lenny Henry in Perth

We had such a relaxing few days in Ullapool, in very mixed weather. We had warm sunshine alternating with heavy showers about every half hour! In fact on Sunday we even had a brief episode of hailstones! This hasn’t stopped us from getting out and about; James has been on his big morning walks and we have walked around the village every day, inspecting the harbour and stopping for a couple of café lunches. We headed home on Tuesday after catching the cats without too much fuss. 
Yesterday was Christine’s 70th birthday and she is spending the week in Portugal with Gerry, Euan, Cat and Ally. They are having a great time although it is very hot - 40 degrees!
This evening I went to Perth where I met Margaret, who treated me to an absolutely delicious meal at the North Port restaurant; the food was beautifully presented with unusual taste combinations, I definitely plan to return. Then we strolled the short distance to Perth Concert Hall to see Lenny Henry being interviewed by Fred Macauley. He started off by doing some stand-up, at which he is very skilled. He was very funny, and the audience loved him, but it took him a little while to get into his stride; I think that the polite Perthshire audience was a little quieter than he is used to, and it perhaps gave him the impression that his act wasn’t going down too well. He also mentioned that he hasn’t done stand-up for a while, so maybe he felt a little nervous. I felt like standing up and shouting, Lenny they do like you, they are just an older and more reserved audience than most! The second half was much better, Fred Macauley is a good interviewer and Lenny Henry relaxed and interacted with the audience more. I was really glad that I went, it was good to see Margaret and it was a fun evening. 

Happy Ruby Wedding Anniversary!

Today is James’ and my 40th wedding anniversary! I can hardly believe that it has been 40 years. I remember waking up on the morning of our wedding and the first thing that I saw was my beautiful wedding dress, hanging up on the curtain rail in my bedroom because it was too long to fit it my wardrobe. It was a lovely day; we were only twenty-three and twenty-two years old, it was a very traditional Scottish wedding and we enjoyed the day so much more than we had anticipated! The wedding was at Trinity Church and the reception was at the Popinjay Hotel at Rosebank in the Clyde Valley. Our family and friends were all there supporting us and we were very happy. 
And here we are forty years later, spending our Ruby anniversary in Ullapool. We will also be celebrating with Heather and Ewan in Paris in June, and with all three of our boys and their partners in Tanzania at the end of July, however this weekend it’s just the two of us - and the cats! Today we walked around the village and had lunch at Tea by the Sea. The weather forecast was for rain, but although it was overcast it was really warm and we were able to sit outside. Then we watched some of the coastal rowing regatta that is taking place in the loch today. There were competitors from lots of different clubs. 
In the evening we drove to Lochinver to have dinner in Delilah’s which was very busy. The meal was absolutely delicious, and although the service was a bit disorganised we had a relaxed and fun evening. When we drove back to Ullapool at about half past nine it was still quite light and there were quite a few deer down by the road. 

The Crucible

I am in my hammock in Ullapool on a warm afternoon. We drove north with the cats this morning. Unfortunately, according to the weather forecast, it is the last warm and dry afternoon for a while, because rain is predicted from tomorrow morning. Still, we have had a very good run for the last couple of weeks. 
On Wednesday evening we popped round to visit Jennifer and Ryan in their beautiful home. We gave Jennifer her 30th birthday gift and also an engagement card and present for both of them because they got engaged during their recent holiday to Nashville. They were very happy and we are delighted for them. 
In sad news, the Appletons’ dog Luna died yesterday. She was fourteen, which is a good age for a labrador, and she had been getting more frail over the past few months, however her family will of course miss her very much. I know what it’s like to lose a much loved pet, so my heart goes out to them. 
Last night we went to see The Crucible ballet with Gordon and Morag. I wasn’t sure what to expect because the subject matter of the Salem witch trials is very downbeat. However the dancing was absolutely brilliant, and ballet was very effective in conveying the emotions of the characters. We all enjoyed it very much. 

Back to the Book of Mormon

James gave me a lift to Hairmyres Hospital this morning for my second ingrowing eyelash treatment. My blood pressure was apparently a bit high (181 / 68) so I was put on hold, but meanwhile the doctor looked looked at my eyelashes and said that they are not growing back so I didn’t need further treatment. Hooray! I phoned James, who had gone for a walk, and we came home in time for lunch. I had various errands to do but James persuaded me to relax in my hammock instead, and I didn’t need much persuading! 
We met up with Davie and Chanel for a pre-theatre dinner at Antipasti in Sauchiehall Street. It was a very nice meal and the service was excellent. Then we headed to the Kings Theatre to see Book of Mormon. I had forgotten how funny it is, and what a surprisingly moral and positive message it gives, despite how irreverent it is. The cast were really great, so energetic and talented. 

Sulphur dioxide and 3,000 Feet

Another warm and sunny day. James was repairing one of the benches in the garden in the morning. I went outside to speak to him and because he wasn’t there I called his name; Flora replied with one of her loud bleats from round the corner of the house beside the garage; I’m sure she was telling me that he was in there, which he was! This evening we went to a new film called 3,000 feet with Davie. Chanel was tutoring so unfortunately couldn’t join us. The event was at Drygate Brewery and I booked dinner for us in the bar beforehand. When we arrived I was asked if I’m allergic to sulphur dioxide; it must have been noted by mistake on our booking. I have never even heard of a sulphur dioxide allergy, but I looked it up later and it can be found in many beers, which suggests that dining at a brewery may be hazardous for sufferers! 
It was the first ever showing of the film, which is a documentary made by Kevin Woods, who was also the main presenter, and Lindsay Hill. It’s about the origins of Scottish mountaineering, particularly about Hugh Munro and how he came to compile the list of mountains exceeding 3,000 feet in height. It was extremely interesting and I learned a lot about those early hill-walkers. At the end the filmmakers Kevin and Lindsay answered questions, and received a great deal of well deserved applause. 

Barbecue in Uddingston

We headed to Troon for a walk along the beach on Saturday. The blue sky and sea were gorgeous. I took off my sandals and paddled all the way along from the golf course to the centre of the town. The water was delightfully refreshing; it was not even very cold as the tide came in over the warm sand. We had French toast at the Venice Café before retracing our steps along the beach. The main beach was very busy and it was nice to see all of the people out enjoying the sunshine. Davie and Chanel messaged to invite us to a barbecue in their garden, we were delighted and arrived just after 3 p.m. for a fantastic sunny afternoon in their beautiful garden. The barbecue was absolutely delicious; halloumi kebabs and burgers with salads, dips and snacks. Davie and Chanel were such great hosts and we had a brilliant time. 
We headed home in time to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. It didn’t take long for James to fall fast asleep in the couch and I couldn’t blame him; I thought that the songs were very average this year. I still enjoyed watching it; Ally and Cat were watching it in London and Davie and Chanel were watching it in Uddingston and we compared notes about our favourites, none of us guessed that Austria would win. 
On Sunday I decided to refresh the Dale of Norway cardigan that I got from Grandma. Wool should be washed very gently in cold water and I used hair conditioner to soften it. I then laid it flat on a towel on the grass to dry. Unfortunately Floof found it and was excited to lie on top of it; she must have liked the damp and scent of it. She was rolling around on her back on it until I chased her. This annoyed her and as soon as I went back onto my hammock she returned to lie on the cardigan, keeping a close eye on me in case I returned. Tommy and Carol came round for coffee in the afternoon. They have spent a lot of time abroad this year during their house renovations so it was great to catch up. It is no surprise that we sat outside in the beautiful weather! 

Picnic in the park

And the excellent weather continues! We have been spending most of our time outdoors; this prolonged spell of great weather is so unexpected that we want to make the most of it!  On Tuesday afternoon Janie and Julie came round for coffee. It was the first time that I have seen Janie since Robert’s funeral. We sat up at the top of the garden in the shade of the trees and the three of us had a good chat. On Thursday Suzy and I walked up to Holmhills Park and had a picnic there sitting on the bench that looks over Glasgow towards the Campsies. It was really lovely. 
And today we walked along to Burnside and had a very pleasant breakfast with Marjory and Forrest at Hugh’s. Then I jumped into my beloved hammock until Ally W came round for lunch and we ate outdoors - of course! We saw on the weather forecast that Glasgow has been the hottest place in the UK today at 24 degrees. It has certainly felt hot! 

A bit of shopping

More gorgeous weather; I went for a swim first thing and then over to Braehead to buy a blouse that I wanted from Marks and Spencers. I couldn’t buy it online because they suffered a cyber attack on 25th April, nearly three weeks ago, and all of their online shopping is “paused.” Three weeks is a long time for them not to be able to restore services so it must have been a very nasty attack; they must be losing a great deal of money every day. According to news reports the attackers have used “ransomware” which locks out the owner of a computer system and scrambles their data. Then the attackers demand a fee, usually in cryptocurrency, to restore it. After picking up my blouse (and a nice pair of trousers that I spotted) I treated myself to a wee coffee before heading home. 
2025 is proving to be a busy year among our family and friends for births and significant birthdays, so I had quite a few presents to wrap, and I tackled this in the back room, with the French windows open to the garden. 
I met up with Caroline for an early tea at Tony Mac’s in East Kilbride, it was lovely to see her and we had a good catch up and chat. When I got home at about half past six it was still warm enough to sit outside in the garden! 

Colomba di Pasqua

The weather is still lovely and warm. James went off on his usual 15 km walk and I decided to go on my own shorter walk to Fernbrae Meadows. On the way I listened to an audiobook that I’m interested in called “The Growth Mindset” although my mind kept wandering as I looked at all the trees and plants bursting into spring life in the gardens I passed. Fernbrae Meadows was lush and beautiful; there were dandelions and pretty Cuckooflowers (also called Lady’s Smock) in full flower amongst the long grass. I was rather overheated because I had forgotten to bring a bottle of water, so I was pleased when James contacted me to offer me a lift home. We went for a spontaneous lunch at Hugh’s which was nice but pricey for what it was, and then went home and I was soon in my hammock reading the Sunday papers. 

James told me that this morning when he went into the garden he found Tom fast asleep in the catmint barrel; he had crawled in under the protective mesh and made himself comfy on the fragrant herbs! 
We invited Davie and Chanel round for a barbecue in the evening - yes, two barbecues in two days! There were some kebabs left from yesterday and we also had burgers in buns as well as the usual baked potatoes and salads. We gave Davie and Chanel a surprise for dessert; a Colomba di Pasqua which is a traditional Italian sweet Easter bread, with candied fruits and almonds. They had mentioned eating this when they were in Italy at Easter to meet Chanel’s wee brother Liam, and by chance I saw one in Marks and Spencer’s just afterwards. Although we are a bit late for Easter I have been keeping it specially for a meal with Davie and Chanel! It was tasty and they said that it tasted authentic; we ate it with fruit and ice cream. 

Dining al fresco twice in one day!

We had lunch with Margaret in Edinburgh today, sitting out on the balcony on the 4th floor of Harvey Nicks. It was sunny and just warm enough to sit outside; the views over St Andrews Square and in the other direction to the Forth were very pretty. It was great to see Margaret. On the way downstairs we looked at the fashion and, although expensive, it was a lot more wearable than the extreme designer clothes that we saw in Dover Street Market last week. We jumped onto a train homewards; on the journey I had a doze after my tasty and filling lunch. 
Heather and Ewan came round for a barbecue in the evening; it was much warmer in Glasgow than it had been in Edinburgh and I had to sit in the shade for our pre dinner drinks. The barbecue took a while to heat up but once it got going James cooked chicken, lamb, and halloumi kebabs, which we served with baked potatoes, corn on the cobs, mushrooms and different kinds of salads. Dessert was simply fresh fruit and ice cream. We had more drinks in the garden before coffee and tea in the back room. It was a very pleasant evening in very pleasant company. 

Taps Aff on Cumbrae

What a brilliant day we have had! James suggested a couple of days ago that we should go for a cycle together while this great weather holds out. I wasn’t keen at first, but once I thought about it, I decided that it would be fun to go back to Millport and cycle right round Cumbrae. This ten mile (16 km) round trip has been a favourite of mine for as long as I can remember. Jennifer and I cycled round the island with our Mum and Dad when we were children, and I cycled round on a school trip when I was in 5th year with my lovely school friends, with whom I still meet up every couple of months.  I cycled round Cumbrae with James when we were teenagers and many times since, and in due course with our three boys. The last time we did this cycle was in 2019, so it was high time that we visited again. I was reminded of this when Heather and Ewan cycled round the island a few weeks ago when Ewan was doing a locum there. 

So we set off this morning and caught one of the very frequent ferries which crosses between Largs and the slipway, which is a few kilometres outside Millport itself. The crossing was brief and beautiful, with views of blue sea and sky and fishing boats and seabirds around the Clyde Estuary. And on this stunning day we had fantastic views from every angle as we cycled our usual anticlockwise route around the island. The grass and trees were a particularly vibrant green and the shore was lined with warm red sandstone, punctuated by a few sandy beaches. The birds were singing loudly in the trees and we could see the mountains of Arran looking very splendid. A slight breeze kept me cool (thank goodness) and when we got to the town of Millport we stopped at the Crocodile Rock which has been painted there ever since I can remember. There was a group of young men cycling around the island wearing tartan bunnets and we passed them as they stopped in a lay by to remove their t shirts due to the heat - they then passed us with their “taps aff” but their bunnets still on! We cycled 5 km past the slipway to the pleasant Fintry Bay café, where we had coffee and scones. There were quite a few walkers and cyclists partaking of refreshments there, but since it’s a weekday during the school term it wasn’t too busy. Among other quirky decorations the café has a painted statue of a panda outside it and a wee dog was barking at it so frantically that its owner had to take it over to show him that it wasn’t real! After our break James and I went in opposite directions; James continued anticlockwise to compete a second circuit of Cumbrae, while I cycled the 5 km back to the slipway. I cycled a total of 26 km (which is a lot for me) and James cycled 32 km. He must have cycled very fast because he arrived at the slip way only about ten minutes after me! What a great day. 

V.E. Day 80 years on

Today is David Attenborough’s 99th birthday. And as of this evening we have a new Pope; Leo XIV. The weather has continued to be warm and sunny and it has been a pleasure to hang the washing outside. The lilac is blooming in the garden, and I have been spending a bit of time in the hammock. I have also been swimming and doing useful admin and errands. 

We had some lovely news this morning that Gerry and Janis’s first grandchild arrived in the early hours, a wee boy called Rory. 

And in other good news my lovely goddaughter Jennifer is engaged to her boyfriend, now fiancé, Ryan. They are on holiday in Nashville and are very happy. 

Carolyn came round for lunch today with her two beautiful boys, Harris and Arran. We put a rug on the grass for Arran to shuffle about on, he is such a contented wee soul who absolutely adores his big brother Harris. Whenever Harris kicks a ball or blows bubbles Arran smiles in admiration; he knows that he has the coolest big brother in the world! Harris was very kind with Arran, giving him a taste of his ice lolly and pushing him on the swing. It was such a fun afternoon but oh boy I had forgotten how much hard work wee children are; Carolyn was constantly attending to one or other of them with great patience and humour, feeding them, giving them drinks, amusing them - no need to go to a gym for exercise when you have a nearly four year old and a ten month old! I did lend a hand but Carolyn was much better than me at anticipating the boys’ needs; I’m out of practice with wee ones. 

This evening we watched VE 80 on BBC1; a celebration of 80 years since the end of WW2 in Horseguards Parade, attended by the King and Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales. The concert was very good, a mix of modern and traditional, and some of the testimony from people who remember those times was very moving. 

Jennifer’s 60th party

Jennifer’s 60th birthday party was today in her beautiful garden in Princes Risborough. It seems like yesterday that I first met her, in my Dad’s car on the way home from Bellshill Maternity hospital. My Aunt Hilary sat in the front and held baby Jennifer so that my Mum could sit in the back of the car give me a cuddle. Needless to say these were different days so there were no seatbelts in the car! Ally, Cat, James and I travelled by underground and then by train from Marylebone, and Chanel very kindly collected us from Princes Risborough station. Jenn and Russ are great at hosting parties and their friends are a friendly and welcoming bunch. There was lots of chat and laughter. Josh and Ben were pleased to see Ally and Cat, and also Davie and Chanel who had driven from Liverpool last night. It was really nice to see the young people all chatting and playing croquet in the garden. Alan and Jean were there, Jean with a mobility scooter and Alan in an electric wheelchair. Jean is not very well at all I’m afraid, so it was touching that she and Alan had made the effort to come to the party. Alan had a good chat with James about hill-walking, but he was understandably sad about his and Jean’s health problems; he told me that his faith helps him at this difficult time. There was a delicious buffet and a birthday cake and an amazing photo montage called The Wall of Jenn, and we all sang Happy Birthday. I think that Jennifer enjoyed her special day. Davie and Chanel set off late afternoon on their six hour journey back to Uddingston, how lovely of them to drive so far to celebrate with Jennifer. Later Ally, Cat, James and I shared a taxi to Heathrow; Ally and Cat took the underground home and James and I took the 21.50 plane back to Glasgow. The plane was very quiet and in fact set off early which was great. Soon we were reunited at home with Tom and Floof. 

Crystal Maze and Covent Garden

Today was my brilliant sister Jennifer’s 60th birthday. I can hardly believe that my wee sister is 60! I sent her a Happy Birthday message and we will see her at her party tomorrow. This morning we decided to go to the Crystal Maze, which is near Covent Garden. James and I visited the Manchester Crystal Maze in February 2022 with Davie and Chanel and we enjoyed it very much, so we were excited to visit the London version. It was good fun and we were encouraged by our very enthusiastic guide. In Manchester we were in a group just the four of us. This time we were with a London family, which made eight. Luckily they were very pleasant and we all took turns doing the challenges and cheering each other on. All of our boys watched the Crystal Maze with us in the 1990s so I think that Alasdair liked that it feels almost as if you are in the tv programme! 
Cat had booked RedFarm Restaurant just along from Leicester Square, a modern Chinese restaurant with absolutely delicious dumplings and an interesting dish of soup which was sucked with a straw from the inside of a large dumpling. Having consumed the soup you then turned over the dumpling and ate it. Then we went for a walk and a browse around Covent Garden market and had coffee and cake in the Rose Bakery in Dover Street Market, perhaps the trendiest shop I have ever been in, with designer label clothes on every level. The prices were eye-watering and most of the clothes too extreme for my taste, but some of them were very attractive especially some Comme Des Garçons blouses in pretty pastel patterns. We noticed that nearly all of the other customers were wearing distinctive looking designer clothes. The highlight for me was noticing a customer wearing a pair of shoes with the appearance of another pair of shoes on top - by this I mean each shoe had another full size front and toe area sitting on top of the one where her foot was inserted. Hard to describe but it looked very bizarre. 
Exhausted by walking and fashion, we went back to Ally and Cat’s flat and played Sonic racing on PS4. James and I have never played computer games, it’s just something we never really tried, and it was great fun! We watched part of an old episode of the Crystal Maze which confirmed that our experience today was authentic! And we finished the evening by watching a really interesting tv programme called Omnivore that Ally and Cat have been watching recently; a well known chef takes a deep look into a particular area of food each episode. This one was called Pig, about Iberian pork and it was both sensitive and fascinating. 

Highgate Cemetery and the Capital Ring

This morning we travelled to Highgate and as we walked up the street we saw the Dick Whittington Memorial complete with a stone cat on top. Allegedly this was where the discouraged young Dick was on his way out of London when he heard the sound of Bow Bells telling him to turn around and that one day he would be Lord Mayor of London. We walked up the hill and into pretty Waterlow Park, where we had coffee and pastries sitting outside in the sunshine. Absolutely lovely company and location, I felt very happy. From the park we could see over London to the City away in the distance. Onwards we strode into Highgate Cemetery, somewhere that James and I have never been until today. What a beautiful place! Although much grief will have happened there over the years it was so peaceful and serene, the graves sat amid wild garlic, bluebells and cow parsley, and the many trees provided dappled light. There are many eminent people buried here, some of them still very famous. We saw George Michael’s grave, with his birth name, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, inscribed on it. We saw Douglas Adams’ grave, in front of which people have filled a pot full of pens. Also the graves of George Eliot, Alexander Litvinenko, Jean Simmons, Lucien Freud, Michael Faraday, Beryl Bainbridge, Bert Jansch, and so many others. The Rossetti family grave, including Christina, and Lizzie Siddal, the wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Famously DGR buried lots of his poems with her as a mark of his grief, but then decided that they were too good to waste so he went back and dug them up! DGR is buried elsewhere, in Birchington in Kent. The most visited grave is that of Karl Marx; I thought that it was a bit ugly with a giant head and shoulders of Marx on top of the memorial. There were many, many other graves of all shapes and sizes. 
We walked to Highgate Wood to a delightful wisteria draped café that Ally and Cat knew, and we had lunch in its little hedged garden and chatted. The next part of our day was to walk a section of the Capital Ring, from Highgate to Stoke Newington, which was about 11 km. 
The Capital Ring is a 78 mile (126 km) urban walk which loops around Central London, divided into sections and staying within 10 miles of Big Ben. * Opened in 2005, the Capital Ring crosses the Thames at Richmond in the West and Woolwich in the East, and takes in many of the city's open spaces, nature reserves, and sites of specific Scientific interest. Nick, whom we met last night, gave Ally the Capital Ring guide book for his 30th birthday last year, and inspired by this Ally and Cat have walked all 15 sections. We were so pleased that they decided to share one of their favourite sections with us. 
Walking back down through Highgate we soon joined a grassy disused railway track, complete with a “Spriggan” * gazing down at us from one of the arches, and an overgrown station platform. We walked in through Finsbury Park and along New River, and past the reservoirs in Woodbury Wetlands. We walked into Clissold Park past its small lakes, and took a short detour to see the Fallow deer grazing contentedly in their roomy enclosure. One more park, Abney Park, took us to Stoke Newington and its station. What a brilliant walk! Later we had pizzas back at Ally and Cat’s flat and a relaxing evening. 

* The larger “London Loop” is a 150 mile (242 km) circuit around the edges of London.) 

 * A Spriggan is a mischievous skinny sprite, originating in Cornwall. 

Bluebells in Kew Gardens

Today was another hot day in London so we decided to head to Kew Gardens. It was a perfect destination to stroll around in dappled shade and look at the spring flowers including rhododendrons, azaleas, and woods filled with bluebells. There was lots of birdsong too; robins, blackbirds, song thrushes and even parakeets! I was quite overwhelmed with the beauty of the gardens and the scents of the flowers were heavenly. We arrived at the Pagoda just as a tour was going in; we were able to join it and climbed the 253 steps to the ninth floor. We had fabulous 360 degree views for miles around, including London City away in the distance, slightly hazy in the heat. The pagoda’s sloping roofs are decorated with dragons, brightly painted in gold, blue and green. Apparently these were removed in a state of disrepair in the late 1700s and were only reinstated in 2018. I took a few photos, one of which was of the Japanese garden which had bright red rhododendrons. A gardener could be seen in the distance and when we arrived at the garden shortly afterwards she was still there and I showed her the photo. She was delighted and I offered to send it to her, which I then did. It was a very good photo if I say so myself. We had lunch sitting outside the Pavilion Restaurant and then I sat on a shady bench with an amazing view of the Pagoda while James went for another walk, and when he returned we read our books for a while. Later we went for a curry with Ally, Cat and their lovely friend Nick, to the excellent Holy Cow near their flat. A convivial evening ensued. 

This Sceptred Isle

Well, as forecast we found ourselves in London today in the hottest start to any May on record, with temperatures reaching 29.3C (84.7F.)
Apparently this beat the previous record of 27.4C in Lossiemouth, Scotland, back in 1990. Needless to say I sweltered in the heat but by judicious walking in the shade when possible, and a lovely time paddling in the Serpentine, I managed fairly well. Most of England was also hot, although I heard that it has been cooler in Scotland. 
In the morning we went to the V&A to see the Cartier exhibition. It was certainly glittering and opulent, but James and I agreed that we preferred the Fabergé exhibition that we saw at the V&A in 2022, because the exhibits seemed more skilled and intricate. Still, the Cartier jewellery was very fine and we enjoyed seeing it as well as having a refreshing cup of tea in the courtyard café, one of my favourite cafés in London. We then walked to the Serpentine Lido and found a bench in the shade, and although I was a disappointed that I could only paddle (because it turns out that swimming there doesn’t start until mid May) it was still wonderfully cooling. A few people didn’t see the signs and started swimming but they were swiftly spotted by the safety boats which were supervising the pedalos and told to get out of the water!
We walked through Hyde Park and Green Park in our way to the Bridge Theatre beside Tower Bridge. There were lots of people having picnics on the grass beside the river, it was lovely to see everyone enjoying the sunshine. 
We had a very nice dinner in The Coal Shed, just round the corner from the theatre, and then we took our seats for Richard II, starring Jonathan Bailey. It was great! Despite not knowing very much about his reign, the play was easy to follow and the cast were superb. Bailey played Richard flamboyantly as a foolish, vain man, but thus resulted in more laughs from the audience than I think he intended. Jonathan Bailey is very popular just now from his role in the Bridgerton tv series, and I think a lot of the audience had come especially to see him. Anyway it was an excellent production and I loved it. London looked beautiful on this warm night as we walked to Tower Hill DLR station, and we had a brief and pleasant chat with Ally and Cat before bed. 
My favourite quote from Richard II is by John of Gaunt, describing England as an idyll under threat from impending civil war:
“This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England”