July

It’s July and the harebells and meadowsweet are out – two of my favourites!  Meadowsweet is all along the hedges and there are great swathes of it in fields and meadows but you can often come across harebells unexpectedly; I found this little patch in the field by Park Beck and there was another clump growing out of the church wall as I passed by.

The main summer season is well underway now at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick. ‘Handbagged’, a play about the meetings between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher, is excellent, very funny but also gently reminding us of serious issues. ‘As you Like It’ started last week and is a very modern take on Shakespeare’s play, very imaginative with lots of music and dancing, very enjoyable. We had an excellent pre-theatre meal in the café on a limited choice menu; it was very nice and relaxed and you don’t have to worry about getting to the theatre on time.

My most exciting news at the moment is that after nearly a year without a dog I have now got Max, a rescue border collie. He is very friendly with both people and dogs and even accepts that he is Peggy, the cat’s, new best friend. As a rescue dog he does have some problems, he is very nervous and doesn’t seem to have been used to going out for walks but he is gradually learning it can be fun. This morning we made it down to Crummock with Andy and Jenny, my neighbours, and their dogs. Clare, my daughter’s comment on his reluctance to go for walks was that he had heard on the doggy grapevine how far I walk!

I often put in a photo of the view from my garden but this month I am putting in a picture of my garden as it is looking so colourful at present.