Those were the days!

Julie and I met at the Tyneside Riverside County Park in Prudhoe this morning. It was already very hot at 1030, but we just ambled along and enjoyed the shade when there was any.

We walked up onto The Spetchells. This is a hilly area made from spoil heaps from fertiliser processing at nearby ICI during WWII. There were attempts to remove the heaps, but then they were grassed over and preserved. It is the only area of chalk in Northumberland.

As you can imagine, the wildflowers and plants differ from other habitats. We saw lots of oregano, sweet mignonette (I could not remember the name), mallow, hypericum, orchids, wall rocket, thyme and common centuary. I did not find any wild pansies or the bee orchids that grow somewhere along the riverbank.

At Hagg Bank we came upon this wonderful sign on a house. I think the owner is a retired local GP. There is no mention of PPE, so I am not sure it I can advise anyone to consult him!!

Tonight we watched and listened to the first concert of the Penarth Chamber Music Festival, with our lovely friends David Adams and Alice Neary performing. There was a brief appearance on Zoom by Florence Plane on bassoon. There were a few technical hitches, but the music was lovely and the playing superb. Catch more concerts on YouTube. It was the Guardian pick of the week for classical music.