Summer groove ...

I have slowly and gently slipped into the summer groove this week and succumbed to the pace of these sultry days, finding a daily siesta a necessity....
This could be my subtle way of bringing Tuscany to my doorstep as this year we are firmly grounded and will not be venturing far afield other than the threshold of Dartmoor for two days later this month..
In no way am I complaining.. it is quite liberating not to have a valid passport and I relish the few day trips that we have promised ourselves after our D.I.Y agenda is complete. Dear long suffering Mr Custard say D.I.Y translates as "Don't involve yourself " and has kicked against my regime of de-cluttering and painting our utility yard that has been sadly neglected for the last two years.. along with other disaster areas around the home.
However.. this is meant to be a holiday and all work and no play is pretty dull so we jumped at the invitation to go and visit my eldest brother who is presently ensconced in Henley on Thames and we set off on a 24 hour expedition to renew acquaintance as it is over a year since we last met up and it was also an opportunity for me to revisit some of my old student haunts from the 1970's when I was an art student in Reading and Maidenhead.
Henley upon Thames is a very pretty town in Oxfordshire on the edge of the beautiful Chiltern hills and has much charm and character which I was relieved to see had not been spoilt over the years.We arrived in the early evening and had a quick trot around the town to visit addresses that had been significant to me in my impressionable youth..
First stop was the house where I met my first 'Bookbinder' and it was here that the seeds of my career in bookbinding were sown..
The riverside in Henley has always been a great place for people watching and never more so than during regatta week that took place last month..
This person in particular caught my attention...
We then hotfooted it to Henley Business Management College where my brother ( the smart one in the family) is currently employed and commutes from Switzerland every week!

We had been invited to a performance of Much ado about Nothing.. in the grounds of the college..
It was a perfect outdoor setting in a comfortable ambient temperature to sit and be entertained by these fine thespians..

This is what they looked like after my second glass of wine...


I must confess that the steady flow of people , boats and animal traffic along the stretch of river caught much of my attention and I soaked up the scenery of a perfect summer eve along the river Thames....The evening was rounded off in the salubrious.. Hotel du Vin where we were the last to leave at midnight having spent some sacred time with my brother, catching up with the events of the last year and enjoying the best of the British countryside..
I just need a day to recover from all this unfamiliar hedonism.... not a spring chicken any more!