Holding onto Summer
Today, the low sun gave only a little snatched warmth as it spread its transient rays between the megaliths of the city. I caught a few of these lucky rays while I ate my sandwiches on the usual mooring post beside the Bridgewater Hall. The willows which overhang the canal and the floating vegetation were clinging onto their weary leaves, but with daytime temperatures barely set to reach zero, they're soon sure to drop, and ride the canal on a raft of dappled yellow. Where did Summer go? If I were to use one word to describe this Summer, it would have to be bountiful . It was superlative in so many ways - driest, hottest, sunniest. And it kept on giving, not least on the allotment. Plentiful sunshine, paired with lots of watering and a bit of TLC, gave us a whole run of different treats - from delicious egg-sized potatoes to gleaming courgettes, and from a shoebox full banana shallots to the countless punnets of runner beans we thought would never end, and handfuls of luminous...