The summer has started earlier than usual with an intense heatwave. Even with the refreshing onshore breezes, it’s been very hot, and certainly too hot to work. So, the hammock has been up for a few lazy days while the garden has gone crazy.

A variety of wild self-seeded poppies have sprung up everywhere. They don’t last long but they give exciting pops of colour ranging from orangey and bright reds to a more subdued dusty pink. You just take them as they come. Enchanting.

And the roses are magnificent – must be all that rain in the winter months followed by the strong sun in recent weeks. Some are more fragrant than others, particularly the prolific rosa ragusa, which loves the local climate, while others concentrate on being very handsome. Just look at the showy apricot shrub rose and the deep carmine climber reaching up to garden lodge where I write.

Marketing Louisa’s Lament continues. I was privileged to be asked by Guy’s & St Thomas’s Hospitals Trust to speak about the pioneering women in the story at a recent award ceremony for nurses and midwives. Judging by the comments and book orders, I think the talk seems to have stimulated some interest in the goings on at Guy’s in 1880. And my book got a mention in the recently published Guy’s Hospital: 300 Years, pages 518-520. We will put some pics on the website soon.

And the new book? It’s been a bit slow – too much hammock time. But I’ve made a start on another round of edits and finalised some research into how scientific fraud is conducted. Depressingly, it’s rather more common than you might have thought.

Waiting in the wings for June’s blog are the barby pink carpet roses and cannas so see you next month for a view of them as the festival of glorious colour and fragrance continues. And, all too soon, it’s the summer solstice in just three weeks.

And finally…

I have a favour to ask. I’ve been finding my way onto a few new corners of the internet so I can share more about Louisa’s Lament and my upcoming book, and I’d love it if you’d come and find me there.

I’ll also be sharing stories about women in history who’ve been subdued by circumstances, and those who’ve risen despite adversity and, of course, there’ll be more tidbits on my garden and scribblings. Here are the links to my new socials…

I’d love to see you there