Warm weather. Days of it. All in a row.
I can only assume it is because the Great British public got a new Government. It should be noted though once again the political process failed to elect in a new Prime Minister.
In fact the voters (Gail and I included this time) failed to vote in anyone.
This has meant that first runner up and third runner up suddenly realised that rather than having absolutly nothing in common and being life long enemies they have now, so we are told after a week of secret romancing, got lots and lots in common are are really very very good friends.
To prove it to the people who think it is important, the first place politician got married to the third place one. It was a garden wedding in the sun behind their new city home at number ten Downing Street. They declared their troth for five years. Which is a long time for modern marriage. The couple are now called "A New Politics".
Everyone is happy especially the people who like it when there is a Government. Those people went to market and bought lots of Pound notes.
So England has a new Left-Right coalition government of new Conservative Liberal Democrats doing what the omnipresent civil service tells them. I think that neatly ties up all the available political manouvering space and I wonder what the new opposition (Labour ex-government) can do to differentiate itself.... It seems obvious new Labor is wondering about that too. Gordon, the bloke who got them only second runner-up place in the election was sent home to Scotland..... A bit harsh I think. He said he didn't want any more politics and wasn't going on the business circuit of directorships and speeches at conferences.....Smart call, given the likely demand for his services.
Anyway now Labour have to pick a loser leader, that will be fun to watch.
It is interesting being able to watch the original Westminster system working from up close. A bit disconcerting that Australia has based it's structure on it, but thankfully we seem to be able do it better. While Australia has had coalition as a norm for years with the Libs/CP, the concept of coalition government doesn't seem to sit so well here.
All rather interesting as a diversion but much more importantly, it is so nice to have the sun in which to sit and sip Pimms.
As you can see when the seasons change so do our back yard visitors, 
pheasants are an unusual frequenter of our yard and rarer still to get a female. This one stayed for an afternoon but failed to become as brazen as the grey squirrels. Squirrels are considered vermin by us locals, except Gail who can't get over their little furriness....
All squirrel shots on this blog appear by dint of Gail's photographic infatuation and my lack of resolve not to include them.
I mentioned in the last blog that I have joined a writers/artists group http://www.leedssavages.com/ and they held their launch at a place called Temple Works of which I now add a couple of inside shots. The main space shown behind Gail here is some 2 acres (about point eight of a hectacre) and when built was the largest single room in the world.
This is a ground floor space made available for free use by anyone artistic. The building is being put structurally right by the owners but all internal works, cleaning, painting, electrical, plumbing, heating, are done by groups who have some cultural or artistic proposition in return for free use of the space. Right now the building is achingly cold to work in but hopefully in time and with use the warmth will infiltrate.
Gail and I are still getting out to Yorkshire places we have not been to. There are millions of them. The shots that follow here are of Nidd Hall, in Nidd, in Nidderdale. It is a Victorian home of opulent hideousness and over the top plaster decoration which was the fashion a hundred or so years ago. The whole place with it's huge grounds, stables and worker's village is now part of the Warner Group of Hotels where rich old people go for hlidays. We should have felt very out of place. 
It was nice though to have a drink and burger and while we enjoyed the stroll through the grounds and around the lake, there are better places in Yorkshire. Good news is it is close to Ripley Castle, one of those better places, where they sell the nicest soft serve ice cream in the universe, according to Gail.
