Where has the rain gone? Everything’s so crispy right now and there is no forecast of rain in sight.

Before things got too hot again we had a couple of days at different local beaches. On Saturday we walked from Hengistbury Head into Southbourne and sat and had lunch in a shed at the Brewhouse. There are some lovely carved benches around, I don’t know if they are new or I just haven’t noticed them before.

Here’s Scully checking out a wolfy one:

Labrador dog with front paws on a bench, with wolves on, carved from a tree

Note, I have since dealt with her super long talons with the aid of some Whimzee bribery.

Then on Sunday we hung out on Barton beach with some little cans of cocktail from M&S. Living the dream.

I only read one book last week but it was a corker. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a beautiful, emotional story about three friends who go into game dev together. I pretty much cried my way through the last hundred or so pages.

On the blog I shared my review of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. Behind the scenes I made a start on my interactive reading challenge adventure project…how interactive will depend on how much I have absorbed of my learning this summer, but hopefully I’ll be able to release the challenge even if it’s not quite what I wanted. Don’t hold your breath though!

New books acquired:

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
[gifted] The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope (Orbit)
[gifted] Cackle by Rachel Harrison (Titan)
The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth (ebook)
Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis (ebook)