Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness ........

This was the first day of Autumnal mists which appear so suddenly and dramatically over the Meadows at daybreak. This one was the harbinger of a beautiful,sunny, windless day. Although my phone said it was only 10°, it felt much warmer thanks to the sun.

I met a school friend for coffee and toast (now that’s a combination at 10:30am for you to consider) within the hallowed portals of the Ivy restaurant. Much as I like Söderberg, nothing beats a liveried waiter attending to my needs for only a few extra roubles. We were so comfortable and had so much to say that our tenancy at the table lasted long enough that it eventually invited surreptitious glances from the maître d’ who was dying to put a tablecloth on it for lunch guests.

Despite the lovely sunshine outside, I felt the urge to do a spot of hoovering and dusting because of the imminent arrival of a blipper from the Netherlands and her husband on Wednesday. She is much younger than I and possibly has keener eyesight for noticing dust and general grot. Most of the time I feel that if you have a tidy room, the dust is less noticeable...........but there is a limit !