Mad Dogs and Englishman

Mr and Mrs Bear came over for lunch today and we had a gobsmackingly hot afternoon. It was truly lovely and unexpected; I'd thought that we might have a tolerable hour before it clouded over but it just got hotter and hotter. SO of course we had to try and lower our temperature with beer, wine and ice cream ... 

TSM cooked an amazing quiche that substituted sliced sweet potato for pastry and was stuffed full of feta and other goodies. Awesome. My mint and tahini potato salad was pretty darn good too. As was the blood orange and elderflower liqueur desert.

And as for the witty banter ... when Mr Bear gets going he is like Gary from Men Behaving Badly with a middle aged acerbic twist. I would never have thought that the tale of a banker trying to buy pane au chocolate in a suburban co-op could be so funny ...

Somewhere along the way Scout bought in a live mouse (as opposed to a dead rat, which we've had three of in recent weeks) which I managed to rescue and rehome. Not easy catching a running mouse after a few drinks.

I think the heat went to our heads - the new patio is a real sun trap - and met the booze on the way back down as for some reason we ended up in this selfie looking like a couple of grinning idiots. Probably not inaccurately.

TSM and I waded through the wreckage of the kitchen listening to The Bee Gees as we washed up then sat down with a coffee and the Sunday papers, which made me realise again that we are living through difficult times both at home and abroad. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and become cynical in the face of all the horror, from housing crises to self-immolating refugees, so I am thoughtful despite having had a lovely sunny day in great company. What constantly haunts me, perhaps because I have had such a happy day and am so fortunate, is the proper balance between self and others. I keep thinking of Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies, who is faced with execution after being caught spying. Tom Hanks says "Aren't you worried?" to which he repeatedly replies "Would it help?". It is too easy to be overwhelmed by anxiety and helplessness, and these things don't do anything except drag you down. If we can we should just do some good. Do anything. It is s better than the alternative and produces better outcomes

 "The next three things" remains my guiding philosophy so as afternoon turns into evening I shall combine a little domestic duty with pondering a bit more about what I can do to ... in a practical way. After all, I do have more going for me than just looking like a potty old pirate who has been left out in the sun too long ...