Wed July 25th St James Day

During our holiday, we spent time with family, and small niece E. and I enjoyed writing a detective story together, set at a village flower show. We also took part in the village Fair, where E. triumphed in the under-9s running race and was presented with a medal - moment of glory. It was a proper Fair, with Morris dancers with sticks and bells, and little girls from the village school doing country dancing (We were all invited to join in the final dance, and I kicked off my shoes and did so with glee), and candy floss, and displays of thatching, and lots of home-made jams and cakes on sale, and "guess the weight of the pig".

Our village was fortunate. Many other country events were cancelled because of the weather, including the big Dunster fair - diagonal stickers saying CANCELLED stuck over the posters along the lanes. The ground was just too soggy and waterlogged for horses and dogs and tents and crowds and crowds of people.

The rains had made the countryside look glorious. It was great to be out of London. Mass in the local town: a crowded church with the first of the season's holidaymakers. Talkative family meals. A glorious concert, part of the big Minehead and Exmoor Music Festival - Mozart and Richard Strauss in a lovely Medieval church (brother-in-law among the musicians).