What Is That Old Chinese Proverb?

'May you live in interesting times'?

That seems to be the case with Brrrrrrringland at the moment. What with the riots last week and the flash floods in the north and south of the country today, there is just not a second's peace.

Fortunately, the looting has all blown over now and the people affected are slowly but surely getting back on their feet and starting over again. One positive thing to have come out of all the madness is that it showed the true gritty spirit of the Brrrrringlish and those who choose to live here. I think in recent years, this country has gone too far to the liberal left, with courts, police and parents not able or willing to punish those that do wrong. Hopefully the tide has turned and victims will now be protected and the guilty punished.

P and I were lucky not to have been affected as we live in a nice area and the incidents were mostly isolated in the poorer parts of the city. We have been blessed with a really lovely life with lots of green space. For example, this past Sunday morning before we participated in a charity car boot sale (more about that later), P and I took the dogs to a park and had breakfast at a cafe with a stunning conservatory. We sat outside in the sun surrounded by numerous trees and landscaped gardens. As I walked past the cafe's display cabinets showcasing the delicious sandwiches, cakes and pastries, I thought to myself how absolutely lucky we are.

However, we never take it for granted and do our part for those less fortunate than us as well. After breakfast, we joined my team from the office at a car boot sale to raise money for a charity that works with children who are at risk from poverty. The charity places children in family-based care and provides them with an education. We were there for five hours and in that time, sold everything from books to lawn mowers and all sorts in between. It was a long, hot and tiring day but also a lot of fun. All in all, we raised about £500 and our company will match that, making our donation a worthwhile £1,000!

This weekend, we are definitely looking forward to just relaxing on the patio. I don't know how many more weekends we will have as the temperature has suddenly dropped to the low teens today and there is definitely a chill in the air. I feel like we haven't really enjoyed this summer as we were so focused on doing the garden. Fingers crossed that we will have a temperature autumn like we did last year when it was still warm right into early October. Well, we can but hope!