And so another entry, another heatwave. I’m not sure when hot weather became a heatwave but it’s the buzz term this summer. Work and my car with their excellent air conditioning provide daily respite and sitting outside in the shade at home makes evenings easier. I’ve still not quite figured out the best way to sleep in this weather though.

It feels like one of my key strategies in keeping cool is to eat ice cream, it’s a daily staple in this heat and I am loving every bite. I am experimenting with every flavour, if you’re going do it, go in hard!

Last weekend was quiet, so we decided on a day trip on the Sunday to Weymouth. I love a little day trip and we like to catch the train to make it feel a little bit different and to offer no stress with traffic and parking. There was a food festival around the harbour, perfect for pottering around, where we bought some delicious brownies. We also did a bit of holiday shopping and walked along the beach.

This weekend has just been wonderful as an old school friend came to stay. There is something very special about a friend who knows you. The history of countless time spent dreaming, chatting and laughing in teenage bedrooms, school and days out, so many shared experiences, being part of the life story that you don’t need the gaps filling in, 40 years of friendship that made this weekend so easy and warm. We did simple things, it wasn’t about grand plans but catching up. Yesterday we mooched around town, walked along the beach and sat on the field with a drink listening to the jazz festival before heading back into town later to watch the football in the pub. Today was park yoga, a little throw back to PE lessons, paddling in the sea and feeling the warm sand under your feet. This weekend made me feel like me, the original version.

The World Cup has been continuing this week. England played a Round of 16 match at 2am on Monday morning but I didn’t stay up to watch it , the thought of little sleep, a busy working week and fun plans for the weekend meant I only saw the highlights. For someone who normally sleeps well, I surprisingly woke up naturally at 4am, checked the score on my phone and then followed the last 2 minutes before sleeping again. Ironically it seems that this was England’s best performance by far. Last night’s game was a mixed performance, moments of class but also of frustration. However England won in extra time, by this time it was around 12.40am and I think we were all relieved we could get to bed. I’ve not enjoyed the tournament so much because of the time difference it’s been pretty much 12 hour windows with the earliest games at 5pm to those finishing at 4/5 am. Thankfully the next World Cup is in Spain and Portugal so a much friendlier time to watch all the matches. Last night’s game was against Norway who have been one of my favourite teams of the tournament. They just got the vibe perfectly, the team photos as vikings, wearing the tops of their first youth football teams to the rowing and drumming and star quality of Haarland. They were a very refreshing team to be in the tournament.