The Blackberry Picker

This morning, before it became extremely hot, we ventured on to Bushfield Down, very near us, to pick blackberries.  It is an annual ritual for us but we had never seen the area looking so dry before. The rabbit population must have increased greatly this year as the grass was eaten down to bare earth. 
There was a plentiful crop of blackberries and we picked more than 8lbs quite easily.  Most are being turned into bramble jelly while the remainder are being frozen for use later. The berries were very sound, and we didn't find any maggots in them which is good news for pickers like us. However, it  suggests that there are fewer flies laying eggs on blackberries and therefore  much less food for insectivorous birds than usual, and fewer pollinators,which is worrying if it is a continuing trend. 
This evening we watched yesterday's Prom concert on TV. It was an excellent performance of Shostakovitch's 5th Symphony by the Aurora Orchestra, who play from memory ( ie no music score in evidence at the concert ). The first part of the concert was a presentation by actors and musicians telling the story of how Shostakovitch lived for many years in fear of upsetting Stalin and his henchmen, with his music, which could have resulted  him in being imprisoned, or worse.