Summer!

Summer has really arrived: not just in That Edinburgh, as a friend of mine calls it, but also here, on the Firth of Clyde, where we've just enjoyed one of these brilliant blue days of unbroken sunshine and heat.Even church was warm - not a frequent state of affairs in a tall, damp stone building. And then we came home and had coffee in the garden with my pal, which is when I took this photo. The vivid green and the bright blue are very much the colours combo du jour, and I think you can always tell if a sunny scene is here, in Scotland, or somewhere actually warmer, by the blue of the sky.

We had our lunch outside as well - a salad with some Pecorino cheese - and sat on for a while reading the paper. I must say today's Observer is full of interesting observations about the roll-call of Tories announcing their intention to stand for leadership of the Tory party and therefore of the country. (I was decidedly unamused by the declaration of two of them, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javeed, that they wouldn't allow a Scottish Independence Referendum - the very fact that they can quite confidently assert this underlines why it is so important.)

Later the People Next Door became a tad rowdy as more arrived and the drink flowed. We headed off down the coast for a walk along the shore road out to the Ardyne, where I had a paddle in the low tide. (Extra.) The afternoon remained perfect, and it was hard to go indoors to cook when we got home. But I made Greek grilled lamb chops and lemony potatoes for dinner (involving much garlic) and enjoyed both immensely.

Now I'm falling asleep at the keyboard and need my bed. Night night!