Tuesday 6th September   

So summer is officially over, or so they tell us, though I have always considered the passing of the quarterly equinoxes as a better guide to the seasons, which seem to be almost slipping around the calendar these days; what with winter lasting well into March, and often surprisingly warm Christmases.  The three official months of summer, June, July and August have been a massive disappointment, especially August which was largely a washout. But is that a silver lining I see on the horizon; so far the few days we have had of September have, April withstanding, been the best of the summer so far.  Who knows – maybe we will have a flaming summer at last, or even a golden October to boot.

Is it simply the roseate glow of childhood’s memory, or were summers really so much better in the fifties and sixties?  I seem to remember blazing hot Julys and Augusts in the mid seventies too. During the eighties and nineties I was always in Italy with Edward, so have nothing to compare this dreary summer with.  Ah, Tuscany, how I loved those long summer days.  I suppose I should go back again – maybe next year.  Heaven knows, I am not short of invites, and it will be well over two years by then so I really should begin to socialize again.  I am afraid I have shrunk back a bit into my shell these last two years; partly of course, because I was writing the book, which dredged up so many memories – and took up nearly a year of my time, especially with the re-writes, and worst of all; the proof-reading.  It was the hardest part for me, almost a chore and one I struggled with. The trouble was that I knew the book almost off by heart by then, and was sub-consciously looking forward to and relishing (what I considered to be) some of my best little similes or descriptions, rather than looking for spelling or punctuation errors.  I also wanted to keep on adding or changing the text too. Far too late for that by then of course, and even when I got my grubby little mitts on the final printed book, I not only spotted all the mistakes I should have seen whilst proof-reading, but again had the urge to change bits. I have been so busy since then trying to write this daily blog, and other bits of promotion, that another summer has simply flown past.  Still, the sun is shining for now at least.

PS – I did actually write this yesterday, when the sun was shining.