Week 25: 27 May – 1 June

National Seashore, P'town

Nobska Light

So here we are, back in the UK after 10 days in sunny – and unseasonably hot – Massachusetts. I’m told that Britain experienced a (brief) heat wave too while we were away, but there was little sign of it when we got back: so after sweltering in the high 80s we’ve plunged back to the mid to low 50s; from finding it too hot to wear long trousers, suddenly we’re back to scarves and sweaters. And ground frosts! In June! I ask you: is this fair?

But somehow the vista of unrelieved grey seems appropriate. After all, we have a new austerity government here in the UK, a rather strange coalition of the liberal and conservative parties, which as I understand it means that the conservatives have promised to be less beastly than they’d like. Actually, the coalition isn’t as strange as it looks: after all, the key players all seem to have been at public school together, or had the same nannies, or something – and besides, 18 out of 23 of the new cabinet are millionaires. So naturally their response to the huge debt caused by the financial sector is to blame the public sector and cut public spending. It’s like coming home to find the country’s been invaded by aliens while we were away, and we’re now all slaves of Zarg the Destroyer, or something.

Ah, well. This could just be the jet lag talking, of course. At least we got away – how lucky was that? Edinburgh airport was closed for the ash cloud until 1pm, but as our flight was at 1.45pm, it was one of the first to take off. And the British Airways strike didn’t start till the next day – so the gods were on our side. Hurrah!

P'town Harbor

So we had a great time in Cape Cod – many thanks to Gail and Bill for their hospitality, and for all the driving (and Nat for the audiobooks). The highlight of the trip would probably be the visit to Provincetown in the blistering sunshine, where the Village People look is never out of fashion – run a close second by the opportunity to buy a Red Sox baseball cap. Well, that and the ice cream. Oh yes, and the cider. And the beaches. Plus the coffee. In fact, there were many highlights, many of them subtly hedonistic (i.e., I kept my shirt on, but spilt things on it).

In my previous post I mentioned some big news about my career plans. Well, big tease that I am, I’m going to save that till next time, as this blog has been delayed too long already, and feels like it’s past my bedtime, even though it’s just after noon (so no change there).

I didn’t take the knitting with me to the States – it would have been too hot to have it on my lap, anyway. But in between bouts of falling asleep and awakening with the sensation of having eaten library paste in my sleep, since i got back I’ve finished the pattern on the sleeve. All that remains is the inch or so of plain knitting and the cuff, before trying to remember what the hell I did so I can repeat it on the other sleeve. The sooner I get it finished, the better – if summer doesn’t arrive soon, I may need it…

Ladyslipper

Lathyrus japonicus