Retrospective !

I am writing this on the 26th April but this photo was actually taken last week on April 19th. I have not posted many lately due to other factors. 
Last week we had a mini summer and the weather was absolutely glorious. The day of this photo it reached 26C. Our lovely friends had taken us out for the day to visit a National Trust property and gardens of Charlecote,  where we were treated to a feast of a picnic! All prepared by Helene. (Her name should have accents over the "e"'s but I do not know how to type them on this laptop. It has Windows 10. My other one had a different programme. The joys of upgrades!!) 
The picnic was a sheer delight. 
It began with crudites, (once again apologies for lack of an accented "e") which consisted of sliced celery, radishes, pickled gherkins and  tomatoes  Plates were produced for the four small bread rolls (each!) all with different fillings. A bottle of apple juice, fresh cool water, hot sunshine and clear blue skies, what more could anyone possibly want! 
     Just as we finished the rolls, and our plates were empty, a frangipani tart big enough for eight was magically produced not to mention the strawberries! 
The remnants were spirited away before we once again wandered around the parkland and perimeter of the old Manor 
 https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/charlecote-park

The day did not end there however, as we drove on to Hidcote House and gardens. 
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote

It is a place where you can unwind as you meander on the wandering pathways through the gardens, turning corners to come across unexpected vistas, or a secluded place surrounded by high hedges, sometimes laid out formally with a water feature. 
In one of these was a large shallow rectangular pond, containing water weed, other aquatic plants and lots of newts! I was very excited to see some crested newts which are a protected species, and watched a Great Diving Beetle which took me back to my childhood summers where we seemed to live outside and play in the fields through which a  slow moving stream flowed down to a lodge. I watched them for ages then. 
http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/great-diving-beetle
    When late afternoon arrived our hosts produced a cream tea! This is typically English. Small baked scones are produced onto which is spread jam, then clotted cream on top! We all four of us were given another napkin, a clean plate and a knife. Fresh tea or coffee! It was like a conjuring trick!
The gardeners  wjho were working nearby looked on enviously if they passed by our bench! 
Later we drove home to the same warmth and blue skies as here in England it does not now go dark until until almost 9.00pm. Our longest day is the 21st June, after which the daylight hours decrease gradually towards the autumn.
It was a very special day.