Seven !

The seven kittens have joined their mother on top of the wood pile. It would be fair to say that our start to the day is an energetic and noisy one. From their lofty perch the kittens peer down at Sophie with a bemused look. Sophie is not pleased. Any villagers who expected to sleep beyond six am are disappointed.

The family diva is ' encouraged ' out of the garden and along the lane. The farmer has been up early and baled the hay. Sophie carefully checks each of the new bales for hidden delights . After a trip to the stream we head off for a bowl of water and some shared croissant ends. Surprisingly, even though we've gone to a national bakery chain, the croissant is remarkably good. 9/10. The sun is already hot. It's going to be a scorcher of a day. Sophie will be indoors from late morning through to early evening to avoid the heat.

The cakes are of the high in colour low in creativity type. The target audience presumably mothers with inquisitive four year olds.

More types of tomatoes in the greengrocers. These appear to be called ' Fire of Rome ' although, like everything else, they are grown in France. Mask wearing, having troughed at 5% of the shoppers last week. seems to be on the rise. I'd say a third of our fellow customers are wearing masks again. It's also true to say that those who are wearing masks are of the 60 plus cohort. The term ' second wave ' is beginning to enter the popular consciousness although it is generally held that it won't appear until the end of the summer holidays.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts. 'The Font' has been told to sleep at a 45 degree angle ( easier said than done ), go to see the physiotherapist every other day and to take some anti-swimminess medication.