Golden Birdwing

A truly vile day weatherwise! Pete and I decided to take Rosie for a walk early, as rain was forecast for later. We went to Ferry Meadows, but found that they'd introduced a £4 car-park charge at weekends from March 2nd, and we didn't have any cash on us. So we drove round to the free-parking on the other side of the river.

Unfortunately, by the time we'd done that, some light rain had arrived. This was actually OK to walk in, but on the last leg of the return journey the heavens opened, and we had freezing rain and hail. I felt so sorry for Rosie - though she was remarkably stoic. Both Pete and I were soaked to the skin - requiring a complete change of clothing!

I hadn't taken my camera (just as well) so after dinner I decided to photograph this beautiful golden birdwing Troides rhadamantus that has just emerged from its chrysalis. This is such a stunning butterfly, and is a common garden species in the Philippines.

Alex has spent the day in bed. Despite him still having a very high temperature this morning, we decided to see if he could recover without the use of antibiotics. He certainly won't be going to college tomorrow, which means I can have an extra lie-in. So every cloud has a silver lining!