Slothful

The weather in London has been so glorious that it felt like the greatest holiday in the world was taking place in my garden this weekend. In this heat, I do not feel like venturing too far from home; I certainly do not want to be sealed inside a car or Tube carriage or bus. So this weekend was spent slothfully: lounging in deckchairs on a sunny lawn; Little Planet crayoning and chalking on her easel, which we'd placed outside for her; splashing around in her paddling pool; reading the papers; lunching on salads of Feta cheese, watermelon and basil leaves; strolling to the park to play in the sandpit and water fountains; buying and planting new flowers; enjoying the company of my mum; and after Little Planet's bedtime, luxuriating in candlelit BBQs with Mr Planet. Heaven.

I did, actually, venture out briefly in the car on Sunday. My mum and I went to a garden centre in Whetstone, near her house, to buy flowers and terracotta pots. We also had a nice lunch out together - Chef's salad of leaves, boiled egg, avocado, red onion, prosciutto, black olives, tomato and goats cheese. But the journey back home was incredibly stressful because, at 2.30pm, it coincided with the soon-to-begin England v. Germany football match, and there was a mad rush on the roads as cars honked and drivers hollered, impatient and frenzied to return home in time to watch the match at 3pm. It was a relief to get back home and the serenity of our back garden (Mr Planet watched the match upstairs in our bedroom whilst ironing his shirts).

And so my new working week begins. Not a working week that ties me to a poorly air-conditioned office in central London with a view of high rise buildings, but a working week that allows me to type away from a delightful study overlooking a beautiful garden, with a wonderful breeze coursing through every open window in the house and the background noise of... not police sirens or cars but bird song and the occasional gentle chatter of our elderly neighbours. I live and work in London still, but you wouldn't know it really.