Seems familiar...

Hey there. I've taken a little time out following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. I have so much gratitude and respect for this great lady. Her passing really affected me, as it has so many others. I've found it very calming and meditative to have the BBC live stream of the lying-in-state playing on my phone while I've been working and pottering around.

BBC Live Stream

I spotted David Beckham just before he paid his respects at Her Majesty's coffin - I didn't recognise him at the time, but thought 'Wow, what a good-looking chap. He looks a little like Josh Hartnett!' as the camera kindly lingered on him. I later saw on the News that Becks had been queueing with the general public since 2am, so overnight essentially. That's respect.

I can't be there in person, but the live stream has enabled me to participate and pay my respects in my own way. I've appreciated the sacrifices made by those who have attended, who have endured rain, cold and lack of sleep as they've queued. And when they each take their turn to pay respectful homage at Her Majesty's coffin, it's so deeply personal, yet it feels like a shared prayer.

I've loved watching the changing of the guard (every 10 minutes). And who can fail to be moved by the family vigils? Yesterday, The Queen's children, including our new King Charles III, and today The Queen's grandchildren.

Our nation (and Commonwealth, and world) mourns, and yet a beautiful, renewed feeling of strength and unity has grown from our loss.

Rest in peace, Queen Elizabeth II.

And God save the King!

The funeral takes place on Monday at 11am, and I will be watching from home with tissues at the ready.

♥

Edit: The BBC has published a two-minute clip of the grandchildren's vigil here.

Edit 2: This website tells you how to watch The Queen's funeral from anywhere in the world.

Edit the third: On the day of the funeral, The Queen's coffin will leave Westminster Hall at 10.44am. The funeral service will begin at 11am, and at 11.55am there will be a two-minute silence. Please see here (updated) for further information and full details of the procession to Windsor Castle, where The Queen will be laid to rest in the Royal Vault, within St. George's Chapel, beside her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Good morning! Happy September Sunday to you all. September is the month we traditionally associate with harvest here in the UK, and so I felt it might be timely and appropriate to post a photo under the cut of this morning's haul from my allotment and the hedgerows nearby.

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The potatoes are a bit weeny, due to the hot, dry summer - and that's despite watering on an almost daily basis throughout. I'm very pleased with the marrows and yellow courgettes (didn't harvest any today), however, which have cropped bountifully. The early runner beans were delicious, but the remaining ones have gone over now and are far too tough to be edible, so I'll add them to the compost heap. My carrots haven't done much at all - they're teeny-tiny but still delicious. I'm hoping my leeks start to do something soon, and that my onions will too.

It has been a challenging first year, but a rewarding one, too. I'm so grateful for my allotment friends, for their friendship, advice and support, and for having this opportunity to plant, tend, harvest and simply enjoy time spent being with nature.

How are you, and how is your day going today?

This video blog popped up on my YouTube page today. If you watch it from beginning to end, I hope you will, like me, feel calmed, soothed, lulled and full of wonder at the beauty and inclusivity of the natural world. A beautiful little video blog with a fabulous soundtrack, from Jonna Jinton in Sweden.

Do something that makes you smile, whatever that might be...

I will also post this to my happy journal at Dreamwidth.

♥

The heatwave broke! Hurrah! It started to feel a little cooler yesterday, then came the drizzle, and today we've had thunder and a good deluge of rain. The air feels cool again and I have high hopes for getting a reasonable night's sleep tonight.

I will venture down to the allotment first thing tomorrow, to see how the garden grows and what can be harvested, etc. I think I can say with some certainty that I will not need to use my watering can :D

I am appreciating this rain so much. Thank you, clouds!

There's a poem by American poet Emily Dickinson, which somehow feels so appropriate today. I've placed it beneath the cut.

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Happy rainy day, one and all x

So, the hot weather has returned to the southern UK. Today, temperatures reached 32 deg C (approx 90 deg F), so I battened down the hatches, keeping windows closed and blinds down in an effort to keep the cool in and the heat out. And it worked — hurrah. I work from home, so don't have the benefit of office air con, so I does what I can :D I went for a walk around the block at lunchtime and boy, was it scorchio out there. I really appreciated coming home to a pleasantly cool space afterwards!

Temperatures are set to climb over the next few days, with Saturday looking set to be the hottest of this snap at 36 deg C (approx 97 deg F). We're really not accustomed to this over here, and I personally can't wait until the forecast storms and precious rains roll in on Monday.

I know of one place that's hotter than here currently, and that's Meradalir in Iceland, where a volcanic eruption is currently in progress. They have some great quality live-stream webcams in place, showing not only the eruption in real time from various viewpoints, but also other views of the beautiful island of Iceland, including the stunning Gulfoss waterfalls, Jokulsarlon, Reykjavik and Husavik, to name but a few of the featured locations. So, if you start to feel too warm watching the eruption, you can switch to one of the cloudy, drizzly, deliciously cool-looking alternatives :D

This way to the Icelandic webcams

Hope you're keeping cool wherever you are and whatever you're doing this evening!

NB: You have to pick your time with the webcams - the volcano ones were crisp and clear earlier, but aren't showing anything except grey mist currently due to poor local weather conditions.