An English Summer Simmers South

Summer simmers south as the spring in our steps hopes of an 'India Summer' are drowned by the what we euphemistically call 'Inclement Weather', this miserable time of the year until (hopefully) the long, glorious dying of the leaves makes our patriotic melancholia turn to happy leafy walks wherever we are. Real garden fires for the lucky, and from over the 'Pond' so welcome central heating, and hot soup with family and friends; from the Northern Kingdom a 'wee dram' or one from the Emerald Isle; Welsh! and English! ones exist. There are floods in the lovely West Country and to the near attractive North, but here at dusk the clouds scud eastwards over the North Sea as a fleet forming in battle formation - 'Avast'/'Stop'- a sky signal in the west of light grey, amber; a pennant of red showing tomorrow will be a sunny drying day, 'Hip Hip Hooray'!