Dear Brethren All,
I hope that in the main you are all well or as well as can be expected. After experiencing the hottest June on record, we are, I feel, in for a very wet July. We do need this rain for many reasons, especially for the gardens. I caught part of a news broadcast in the week bewailing the plight of the strawberry growers in this country, the weather has been against them this year and the crops are in the main late.
Pat has managed to harvest some soft fruits, raspberries, loganberries and black currants, which she has used to make crumbles, which are now in the freezer. She has also made a mixed fruit jam, also blackcurrant jam. As usual there is plenty to do in the garden trying to keep down the weeds, especially the bindweed, which is everywhere. Our garden waste bin is already full and it will be emptied next Tuesday. No doubt there will be plenty ready to refill it straight away. It has been reported that the number of house sparrows has fallen, well, during the week, on a couple of days, we have had a flock of about 40 sparrows feeding on the lawn. This has been followed a short while later by a flock of starlings of a similar number on the lawn.
What a fortnight of sport we have been entertained with. Matches at Wimbledon have been of a very high quality and competitive, taking longer than usual to come to a conclusion. Good entertainment, although even there the rain caused disruption some of the time. The Ashes series is not for the faint hearted or traditional cricketers. The more modern approach to the game makes one cringe at times but it is interesting in the main.
Keep those lines of communication open and phone a friend now and again. There are still brethren who need our support and encouragement.
Cheers for now.
Malcolm Lloyd, P.G.S.D., Prov. Grand Almoner