A PERFECT SUMMER SUNDAY

Of all the hopes and dreams I had for my son when he took the leap of faith and became a full time writer was the hope that we would have more time for fun. Life seemed to have become a dreary round of work and sleep for us all. Today that dream came true.

We woke a little late,no problem, we took our time over a breakfast of fresh cooked scotch crumpets served with cream and strawberry jam and by the time the meal was over my son had sold another dozen books.

The sun was hot but a light breeze tempered the heat and all in all it was the perfect day for one of the high spots of the year in Avie's Small World,the church fête. In times past we would always be away at weekends,either to the downs or to the coast but now Pa is unable to drive and neither of us can walk far we never go on pleasure trips. That is what makes this event so important to us,and for the first time in years,my son was able to come with us.

My son's escape from the daily slavery of his former job has likewise released me from a bleak sort of drudgery which was the cause of much unhappiness for me,today we celebrated our freedom.

During the course of the morning I discovered ,to may joy that our bumble bee house had ,at last some bees in residence and my delight knew no bounds upon finding the leaf cutter bee house also in use.

The fête was the best ever with a really good jazz band and lots of very cold beer and best of all stalls full of lovely bits of bric-a-brac to trawl through while chatting to old friends. There never was a summer day more perfect nor a summer Sunday so happily spent. Amidst a mass of plaster animals I unearthed a Beswick Chaffinch,beautifully modelled with an asking price of thirty pence, I told the stall that it was worth much more but in the end all she would take was a pound so I bought lots and lots of raffle tickets from her .

We trundled merrily home laden with antique hat boxes, a silver tray,a huge flower arrangement in a gorgeous jug,cuddly toy for the children of our acquaintance,books,cards home made marmalade and a dozen other treasures. The sun slanted over the fields and the shadows lengthened as we ate our dinner in a kitchen where all the windows and the door were open to welcome in the cool evening air.

Loath to see the end of such a perfect day I went for a last ride out in to the lane where the air was fragrant with the scent of millions of tiny lime flowers. Moths were abundant and so were bats,flitting silently between the trees at the start of their nights hunting. It was cooler than indoors where the heat retained in the ancient brickwork still made the house uncomfortably warm. On my return home I discovered that I had won a raffle prize,a large tin of biscuits, it was a lovely surprise.

The sound of the jazz band still throbs out its beat and the smell of a barbecue is drifting through the trees. Our little cat moth is still hunting spiders in the orchard and Twiggy is stretched out on the cool kitchen floor tiles,even the redoubtable Harry is lying prone among the cat mint,worn out with a days play.

These are such insignificant things and yet to me they are the root of happiness, comfortable homely things which speak of family and friends,laughter and fun. Today has banished my sadness of a few days ago,and now as darkness falls I realise even more keenly how much I have to be thankful for.....and thankful I am to the centre of my soul for such a perfect day.