English Summer Sunshine is a fabulous thing. When sunshine is as predictable and reliable as our current spell of good weather, even busy days slip by as is if smoothed by some sort of magical ingredient. My busy day was punctuated with a visit from my daughter and grandaughter. Will I ever get used to that casual remark ” We are just popping in” . After 4 years of being a virtual or zooming Nana to small people half a world away. Now I am a real hands on Nana to an 8 month old recently relocated from London. When Nona gets home from work now she sometimes gets a sticky welcome to accompany the first post work cup of tea. I’m sure we would both be charmed regardless of the weather but an hour in late afternoon sun with a small person is a great post work recovery mechanism.

Sunshine also smooths the sadder aspects of life. Yesterday Hannah heard that a colleague and mentor had died.

https://www.bsecho.org/Public/News/Articles/2023/2023-06/202306-Mark-Monaghan.aspx

For her he was the reason she moved to London to become better at her job. For me he was a man I met at conferences and barbeques. He danced and laughed, at both, with great enthusiasm. Talking about him in evening sunshine over a bowl of mussels was a good way for us to mark his passing.