May really isn’t summer (not even meteorological, which begins on the first of June) but Hugh’s Saker trip to Hungary and Romania from 9 -19 May with Adam should be recorded!

Also half term hols for the Alresford Four in N Wales with cousins and L and S with the Hodges 

June

3 – 9th: David and I go to the Isles of Scilly in the only wet, windy, cool week of this summer (see full blog)

13th: O came for a sleepover and a read in the hammock, and James joined us for AWFs’ ‘Stone, Sun and Vine’ tasting

20th: My final FFFA trustees’ meeting

22 and 23rd: N Piemonte Report 2026 launched at Nebbia e Luce on Cleveland Street in Mayfair on two very hot days

25th: a very hot and long train journey for Lucy and James to Exeter for a concert  

26th: Meanwhile after a sleepover the rest of us headed for Avebury with Hugh in 30 degrees; too hot to stay long

after which Ralph et al arrived for a quiet afternoon game of monopoly before leaving owing to a football game for S tomorrow

27th: L stayed overnight. Hugh chilled w L & E while O and I collected Lucy and James from Newbury, and they set off for home.

29th: David and I took a train to Paddington via Reading to reach Hockney at Serpentine, then Franco’s, and CWW at 67 Pall Mall

July

10th: Tenebrae were performing in Stockbridge; we had a late lunch in the Grosvenor’s Courtyard afterwards

11th: E & O here overnight; R, S & L came in the afternoon; read, played and watched a World Cup semi:  Eng 1 v Argentina 2

12th: the garden has needed constant watering but some of the plants loved the heat if not the drought

14th: Another week of continuous enervating heat; I spent afternoons lying down listening to Bragg’s 10 episodes on the Matter of the North, and most evenings watering either here or on the allotment, the hose pipe ban making the process slow and tedious.

18th: Andover Chamber Choir’s Summer Concert at Farleigh: ‘Rhymes and Recollections’ ….and Spain won the World Cup!

19 – 26th: A week in which Rachel, L and S came for a swim and lunch; when the car went to Meonstoke for paint repair; and Helen offered electrolyte and dehydration advice for my cramps, spasms and light-headedness; work continued on the conservatory in Alresford, O got creative with masks, a special TWITs’ tasting, a conversation with Ryan at Martin’s about the new E-Polo, climaxing with a lunch party at the Grosvenor’s Terrace in Stockbridge on David’s actual birthday!

After which E and O stayed overnight; R, L and S joined us for swimming at Farleigh, and it actually rained once – on 30 July!

31st: Enough! After another struggle with work publications, the ninth was declared final – and D decided we needed a holiday…

August

3rd and 7th: Two double figure birthdays!

3 – 6th: Isle of Wight by train and e-bus; bright sunshine (mostly) and three great eateries in Bembridge, Ventnor and Ryde

10th: L and S to stay; E and O arrived at tea time, plus fan, for a sleepover; all swam.

11th: Hawk conservancy to picnic with Lucy, watch the vultures, the owls, the secretary bird; E’s new uncomfortable train tracks.

12th: was too hot for Avebury, so it was Danebury for L, S and me – not another soul or dog in sight; later swam with Ralph. We prepared for the eclipse – pin hole cardboard cameras, the odd colander. It was very disappointing, but the light levels in the photos below tell us something was happening….from left to right, taken at 19.15, 19.20 and 19.50

And David risked his iphone’s camera with the following selfies… look carefully for the minute bluish dot that appears randomly:

13th: on the hottest day of this heatwave, John and I had our farewell tea w FFFA, and the Basingstoke Three headed home to see James at work. On the 15th Ralph and Louise head for Greece, the Alresford Four drive to Conwy in North Wales, while Rachel and Sarah take five young people to Brittany. I’m i/c Puff. On the 16th we celebrated the 80th birthday of very long acquaintance at an outdoor lunch in Kings Somborne, and on the 17th we paid a deposit on the new E-Polo. Might be ready by Christmas!

On the 19th, (fortunately the only normal summer’s day this August) Liz and finally completed the last leg of the Ridgeway. David came too, and we enjoyed a picnic at Huffington Castle, and an additional walk to Wayland’s Smithy. (See separate blog)

Trains were disrupted by the constant high temperatures so reaching Haywards Heath, to stay with Jez and Emma, was tedious, hot and slow. 0n the 21st, for a belated birthday treat for David, we enjoyed a cellar-raid at Sugrue close by, and sat with Piemonte enthusiasts Charles and Hannah. The next morning we took the train to Lewes (via Brighton – there had been a derailment on the direct route) to meet Helena, Paul and my youngest great neice, to whom we presented the 45 year old intact Fisher Price drill set.

24th: Our minds finally turned to September holiday; not Copenhagen; but the Italian lakes instead. Jonny and Hannah, still waiting for their house purchase to go through, left for a short holiday in Bilbao

26th: E and O came for another sleepover, then home next day for a lovely cooler evening walk in Alresford, while on the 27th we enjoyed a joint birthday meal w Louise and Ralph, L and S, travelling by train and bikes to Fleet. Stayed over, and walked to the Foresters’ pub; then another delicious lunch and home

29th: Celebrated my birthday at Tate Modern – for Mexican themed lunch, the Frida Kahlo exhibition, and a quick supper at Doppo before a concert in St Martin’s In the the Fields, and the train home. The next day we hosted AWFs’ summer lunch..

September

1-12th: Our holiday in Northern Piemonte – Stresa, Orta and Domodossola (see blog)

While the children went back to school (or started a new one), Hugh and James spotted an Osprey on Alresford pond, and Pia enjoyed Athens and Oslo, and S collected a Player of the Year from his local cricket club…

14th: We went to the James McNeill Whistler exhibition at Tate Britain before walking back to Waterloo to take the Academie du Vin’s launch of David Gleave’s Barolo and Barbaresco in the City

18th: the WSET Product Development team visit Hampshire’s Black Chalk vineyard and PeatSpade pub, followed by a TWITs tasting arranged for Caitlin Miller’s and Lee-On Pedahzur’s  brief visit to the UK from NY where they are based.

There followed a series of birthdays: Allan’s, O’s and Hugh’s, all celebrated, of course, in if different ways!

On the 23rd, Jason and David had planned a special celebratory dinner at OSIP (Jess’ birthday) near the small but very trendy Bruton, to which we travelled by train to stay in the equally trendy At The Chapel. Jason cycled there; Jess drove…

No sooner were we back than I collected L and S, and then E and O and drove home for supper, football, sleepover and walk into town. All of them were tired and excitable, but very happy to spend time with each other. Parents were all having a night off!

Summer was technically over, but temperatures remained unseasonably hot. Although Autumn had started, early October brought two final flings: David went to Nizza, and then Alba to lead his third WSG wine tour of the year; Hugh and I went to Flamborough in glorious bird-watching weather, to celebrate my sister Hilary’s special birthday with cousins Ruth and Annie. (See blog)