A WEEK IN PHOTOS

The Week I Wore The Wrong Clothes

And Brought Crime Into Church

The week was to end in a wardrobe mishap. Partly a lack of planning on my part, but the weather had a role to play. However, we started the week with another rodent.

Rats Everywhere

Mutiny on the Bounty. Photo: Penny Grubb

Here is another rat to go with the previous one. Unfortunately, I failed to get a close-up of the explanatory plaque and can only say that it depicted Mutiny on the Bounty, but I don’t know why.

[embed]The Previous Rat Tribute To An Aviation Legendmedium.com

We found the extra rat on a trip into the city with the extended family. I didn’t linger to read the explanation because I could see the seven-year-old dancing along the wall and eyeing the willow trees. She is an enthusiastic tree climber. Not that I could have done anything to stop her if she’d decided to shin up that tree trunk. She has been able to outrun me since she was four.

Photo: Penny Grubb

The Garden Enjoys Summer

The tomatoes are coming along nicely, not yet ripening, but plenty of fruit. The cucumbers, however, have already hit their stride, producing more than we can eat even when we give them away.

Photo: Penny Grubb

Outside, the artichokes are reaching for the sky. I’ve heard their flower heads referred to as thistle-like. I guess they are in a way, but I don’t think I would ever mistake one for the other. We have a giant thistle plant growing alongside them — judge for yourself.

Photo: Penny Grubb

Boiled Rice! The Cartwrights Are Ecstatic

The Cartwrights have always had a deep and abiding love for boiled rice. It’s not their regular fare — they get a balanced diet that covers all their essential needs — but as an occasional treat, boiled rice sends them into a feeding frenzy that wouldn’t disgrace a pair of killer sharks.

Rice isn’t bad for hens, provided it’s cooked. It’s mostly carbohydrate, which gives them a quick energy boost, but too much can dilute the protein they need for egg production and feather condition. Still, in small quantities, it does them no harm, although given the choice, they would eat it every day in preference to anything else.

Photo: Penny Grubb

This pigeon has taken to joining me in the early evening. It lands with a thump on the wall outside the window, looks at me for a while, then flies off. I wonder if it’s angling to have boiled rice scattered out of reach of the Cartwrights.

Photo: Penny Grubb

Sudden Bursts of Torrential Rain

These last few days, blue summer skies …

Photo: Penny Grubb

… have taken to doing this…

Photos: Penny Grubb

… without any warning. Red hot sunshine, then crash! Thunder, lightning, and torrential rain. It lasts only a few minutes, but if you’re caught outside it’s as though someone tipped a bucket of water over your head.

This came out of a sunny blue sky…

[embed]Penny Grubb’s YouTube Channel

… and what is a random piece of wood doing on the roof? There have been more questions than answers in the weather lately.

The Wardrobe Malfunction

This was the week of the book talk. I haven’t done one of these for a few years; the covid lockdowns put a stop to them. I was invited to give a talk on crime fiction in an 800-year-old church in the heart of the area that is the main setting for my private investigator novels.

I used to have several outfits that were suitable for talks, but when I checked, they all seemed to have evaporated or shrunk (or maybe it was me expanding) — all bar one. Then the weather went ridiculously tropical, and I couldn’t have worn the one suitable outfit without melting on the spot.

I found a summer dress that was right for the un-English weather. It was a mini dress (quite unsuitable really), but it was that or shorts (even less appropriate). Oh, and the hem was coming down.

I have a plan for these situations:

1. Waste no time regretting the lack of wardrobe planning — yes, it would have helped to check before the day, but too late now.
2. Fix the hem. If there’s no time to deploy a needle and thread, then use scissors and make sure the hem is down all the way round — it has the advantage of adding a couple of centimetres to the length.
3. Remember that you’ll be speaking from behind a lectern and only be visible from the waist up. It was a reassuring thought, but it wasn’t that sort of lectern. By the time I knew that, it was too late to worry.

It all went well. Good turnout, people laughed in the right places, books were sold, and money was raised to help keep the roof up.

Talking about crime fiction in church. Photo: D Grubb

I heard someone say that my talk was “something different” for the church. I’m not convinced. In 800 years, I can’t possibly have been the first person to bring crime through the doors.

The week in photos articles were started by Dennett in 2020. They provide fascinating insights into people’s lives. As well as Dennett, I recommend you look up the following people for entertainment, inspiration, and good ideas: Susan Alison, Anne Bonfert, pockett dessert, Penny Frances, Louise Peacock, Barb Dalton, Tanya, Kim Zuch, B.R. Shenoy, and John O’Neill.

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