Pretty Polly

My patio rose Pretty Polly is flowering again, providing much  needed colour in our parched  garden.

This morning we visited friends L and T, and their daughter V who celebrated her 11th birthday at the  weekend, and for whom we had a present.  L suffered a SCAD ( spontaneous coronary artery dissection) and heart attack a year ago. It was very good to see her  looking well, although  still lacking some of her  energy, especially  in the heat. She was very fortunate  to get prompt, specialist  treatment when she  experienced her cardiac emergency, mainly  due to living close to Southampton hospital. She is still under their care. Thank goodness for the NHS.  
V is about to start secondary school; I can vividly recall how uncertain I felt at that juncture,  and  V is feeling the same, however much we  try to assure her she will be fine. 

This afternoon  I finished reading the classic  novel "Moonfleet" by J Meade Falkner, about smuggling on the Dorset  coast. It was one of the first  "class readers" we were given as eleven year olds at my secondary school, and my sister and I both struggled with it. I think V would too! However, both my sis and I have enjoyed reading, or re-reading, it fifty years on, especially now being very familiar with the Dorset coastline, although  I still  had to look up some of the nautical terms used in the book.