A SUMMER SUNDAY...

First, a confession. The idyllic picture on the right may be typical of the villages here in Kent, but it`s not the one I live in. This one is Smarden, further down the county, but it`s a nice picture and I thought you might like to see it anyway. My village is nice enough and we`re lucky to have some real countryside almost on our doorstep.

Barney woke me up at about 6.00 this morning and as it`s going to be another hot day, I thought the sensible thing would be for us to have an hour`s wander through the nearby orchards before we both had breakfast.

So we did. And what a glorious summer morning we have today. No-one about, just us, as we found our way through the fruit orchards on a circular route that took us back to where I had left the car. The apple orchards are looking good - looks like a good crop this year, so no worries about a shortage of Mr. Kipling`s exceedingly good apple pies next winter. And as I mention winter, I`m reminded that we have just passed the summer solstice, so the evenings will begin to draw in. I`m reminded too about my aversion to winters and the dark, the cold, the wet and the misery of it all.

Today, the temperature is set to rise to 29C with the promise that it will get even hotter as the week goes by. Some people are already complaining about the heat; the newspapers are beginning to print stories along the lines of "Whew, what a scorcher!" and the weather forecasts on tv are including the phone number of NHS Direct, so you can ring up and find out how to cope with the hot weather.

But you won`t catch me complaining. Given the choice between the dismal winter and the simple experience of meandering through the orchards with just a dog, the birds and the scampering rabbits for company on a blissful Sunday morning in high summer, there is no contest. Some days - like today - it`s simply good to be alive, to be well and to be able to enjoy the sheer pleasure of just being. I hope your Summer Sunday is as good as mine.