A little bit cooler today

I am ever the optimist! We did have a short sharp shower of rain yesterday but considering it was supposed to be thundery showers all day I feel a little short changed. I walked to the doctors yesterday to pick up prescriptions and the sky could only be described as lowering but it didn't rain. I felt as though I wouldn't care if it did rain on me while I was out!

Today does feel a little fresher but there's virtually no wind and brilliant sunshine so I suspect it'll be hot again. I did manage to strip beds this morning without dissolving on the floor in a little pool.

I don't really understand all the 'good advice' the Government keeps issuing about this 'heatwave'. Most is so obvious - keep out of the sun, drink plenty, use sunscreen, wear loose clothing. How old do they think we are? I really hate the Nanny State. Do this, don't do that, eat this, don't eat that, fat people need to get thin, thin people need to put on weight. Why not give us rations and dress us like the Chinese under Chairman Mao? For the powers that be reading this I AM being sarcastic and if you try it I'll be the first to rebel!!

I thought this was summer? and books.

Whatever happened to summer? Or did I somehow miss it by having a lie in one day? It's not cold just wet and miserable and windy. I can only think of two or three days this summer when I've ventured to go to work without some sort of jacket or jumper. Usually I manage to on most days from June to September - not this year. I'm hoping for an Indian summer. There is something so delicious about that particular British weather phenomenon.

I finished reading 'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day' by Winifred Watson now of course released as a film. It's very much a Cinderella type story but the characterisation is excellent. Miss Pettigrew - almost down and out governess - rejoicing in the unlikely Christian name of Guinevere - must get another job or . . . . She is given two addresses - Miss LaFosse who wants a governess for two children, and another lady who wants a maid. Miss Pettigrew opts for Miss LaFosse. But the situation is not what it seems and she is introduced to the glamorous and exciting world of the night club singer and her friends. In the space of one day she finds her life changing - for the better -as she realises she is appreciated and valued for herself. The dialogue is admirably theatrical and I'm sure it will make an excellent film, provided it is viewed as the period piece it obviously is. The book was written in the 1930s and was very popular in its day, disappearing into obscurity only to be resurrected by the publishers Persephone, who specialise in reviving forgotten 20th century classics. It's a quick read as there is a great deal of dialogue and I found it an uplifting book depending for its resolution on the basic good in humanity.