Since the early part of June, however, the weather has been much less pleasant and rain has been a major issue. Remember the fair being cancelled because of wet ground?

And then of course, there was the cancellation of the Royal Lancashire Show. All-in-all, summer 2008 has been something of a damp squib. We have used our patio furniture about three times and the cushions have actually been out of doors only once. On that day the sun was hot, but there remained a chill in the wind. The barbecue has been used only once.

It was, therefore, with a sense of low expectation I arrived to judge the flower and produce sections at a show over in Clitheroe. To my surprise, the garden flowers and patio containers sections were actually better supported than usual and the quality was very high.

The produce section was less well supported but the winner in both the fruit and vegetable sections clearly knew their stuff.

Everything it seems had been brought to perfection especially for show day. A case of skill, dedication and perfect timing.

After the show wifey and I drove south to spend a short break in Oxford. We could not have chosen a better time. We avoided the traffic and had a hassle-free journey.

The Saturday we spent amid the ancient spires of Oxford. Frankly, while I appreciate the importance and history of the city and university, I've never really been a fan of the place but that hot sunny day enjoying a tour around the city in an open-top bus we were able to see the city at its very best.

Indeed, we were so hot, it was a relief to get out of the sun and cool off on a tour around the Bodleian Library.

Very pleasant it was too, but the experience really hit a high note when we had an excellent (ie huge) lunch in the sunny beer garden of the Turf Tavern hidden away down an alleyway near The Bridge of Sighs.

A regular watering hole for Inspector Morse, I was faced with the distressing choice of loads of real ales on offer. Frankly, it would have been poor form not to try.....well, all of them.

Feeling extremely content wifey and I walked down to the University Botanic Gardens.

The sunny weather allowed us to enjoy the gardens at their best. Herbaceous perennials and vegetables, grown potager style were strongly represented there but the highlight for me was sitting on a bench supping tea in the shade of a cherry tree watching the world go by.
Usually, I shun crowds and the gardens were very busy, but the mood was relaxed and it was nice to see so many people just chilling out in the summer heat. (I wonder how many realised the herbaceous borders across the street in Magdelen College are even better).

The weekend passed quickly and on Monday we decided to go and have a look at Kent ... so defying logic we drove down to Dorset. The forecast was as usual pessimistic and we entered Poole in torrential rain but once again our timing was good, and we had only to wait five minutes for the ferry across to The Isle of Purbeck which was bathed in sunshine. What a lovely area!

Once more our luck was in. With the day drawing to a close we had nowhere to stay the night.

I called in at Studland Post Office to ask if there was any accommodation locally. Bingo. Their one room had just become vacant and the room serviced. Perfect timing. A stroll down across the sunny meadows to the Old Harry Rocks and then dinner.

Overnight it chucked it down while we were in the land of nod, but we awoke to another day of hot sun so we opted for a walk over to Corfe Castle.

This is the landscape of Enid Blyton and we too had a jolly time doing jolly things, eating cream teas all washed down with lashings of ginger beer (well, real ale actually, but you get the picture).

The day passed with a trip down the steam railway to the surprisingly pleasant Victorian seaside town of Swanage to see people swigging cups of tea in their beach huts. Still the sun shone as we walked the cliffs back to Studland. As we got back indoors it rained, just missing us again.

Wednesday saw us paddling in the sea but our absentee eldest daughter was arriving at Heathrow from Thailand having spent a month there. We stayed into the afternoon, but eventually and reluctantly we loaded our bags into the car and headed north towards London.

I was dreading the M25 and getting to Heathrow, but all the queues were on the other carriageway. We arrived at the terminal car park just as her plane landed. Yet again, an instance of perfect timing.