My sister's cat

Nestled in the heart of the ancient Essex countryside, the village of Stock, more a hamlet with a scattering of period homes, sits happily bathed in midsummer sunshine. Jesse the cat peers out from the lavender, resplendent with butterflies, and looks over the rolling golden fields of wheat awaiting harvest. The Regency cottage, reminiscent of Austen's literature, in which I awake this morning to peer out over her neighbour's organic farms is exquisitely quiet, save the sound of cockerels heralding the new day. It sits on the protected Swan Lane with one single track serving both directions in the safe knowledge that such protection affords, that nothing can ever be built along its pathway, nor can the road be widened. I am blissfully at home.

Note: On July 1, I departed with the boys for the UK and a two week cruise through Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark and Russia with Disney. Upon my return, I spent 4 memorable weeks with mum and dad, along with my sisters, brothers and dear sweet nieces in the town, country and by the seaside. Most unusually for me, I had little computer access and so my Blip obsession gave way to endless days of storytelling with the boys, Cbeebies, walks in the country and extracting the fullest records of my family history through daily talks with my parents. Given the editing now involved, the photos will come as little trickles as and when I find gems which take my eye and for such random storytelling, I apologise.