... and it is raining. In fact is seems to have been raining for as long as I can remember, but that may well be because I spent most of May indoors and didn't see the light of day. What can I tell you about the school exams? Nothing that would be of the slightest interest, believe me, and I am pleased that they are over for another year.
The gallery is looking good at the moment, even if I say so myself. We have two very good exhibitions of work by artists who live locally - Leo du Feu is showing a collection of sketches made on his trip across Canada, whilst Anna Divers is showing the outcome of some two years visiting and listening to a lady who has lived in Blackness for almost all of her 80 years. Memory and contemporary Blackness are woven together in a fascinating collection of paintings of the public and private. There is such a lot to discover and think about.
The Marches came off in good weather this year, with the parade perhaps longer than in previous years. There were fewer huge floats, many more people dressed up and smalled decorated cars and tractors taking part. The Gala Day, however, was damp and rained upon for most of its journey along the High Street. The fairies and flower girls looked cute as ever in their special dresses, all concealed in clear rain capes to look like cellophaned bunches of flowers, but their little faced were drawn and cold. The bands, however, enlivened proceedings greatly and, whilst festivities in the Peel had to be relocated, I think all went off well.
From the above you will realise we did not go away this year - school ended on the Thursday before Marches, and there was neither enough time nor energy to sort something out. It was good to be here though and the weather meant we were able to spend the latter part of the day in the garden.
Newsflash - the pet count has increased, in the last week, by some 20,000! Elisabet and Jill drove to Corsock on Monday night and came back with a nucleus of bees - can you imagine driving about with a car full of bees? The hive is now out in the countryside (I can't write where as there is a very unhealthy spread of hive rustling at the moment, lots of hives have been killed off either through bad weather or disease, and those that are still on the go are at a premium) and our fingers are crossed for some honey by the end of summer. There is a huge amount to learn about bees and how to look after them, although it is hard to think of them in the way one might a dog. There are just so MANY of them!
Don't tell any one - but the rain has stopped and the sky is lightening. I am off to to the sun dance in the corner .....
