Today

Is it really only the first of August today?  I ask, because the farmers over the Downs are already well into harvesting the barley and yesterday, when it was still only July, I picked a whole load of luscious, juicy blackberries.  I have, in the past, seen the odd one or two blackberries in July with more appearing during the first half of August, but generally speaking, we don't get the fat ones until well into this month.  I suppose it must be a result of all the unusually warm weather we have had.

Back in 2011 (pictured)the harvest was three weeks later.  And this year the grass in those fields is almost brown.

This day 100 years ago:

• the First World War started with Germany declaring war on Russia, although the UK did not declare war on Germany until 4th August 1914;
• my father was born, thereby very nearly becoming a war baby.