From Braintree to Benalmadena, and every disco I get in

Blossoms at RHS Hyde Hall

Whew! What a scorcher!

It has been (officially) the hottest May Day Bank Holiday in recorded history - the thermometers reached 28C (82F) today - and (as you, dear reader, may have noticed) I have been away. When people ask in the office tomorrow why I have such a tan; have I been on holiday? I shall answer yes! To Braintree...

The boys - Baby Steve and Houseboy Alex - were very good hosts; driving me across the highways and byways of Essex, to plant nurseries, antiques centres and to the Royal Horticultural Society's excellent gardens at Hyde Hall near Chelmsford.



Needless to say, I left (on the bus from nearby Stansted Airport) today weighed down with plants to fill our new garden - including sixteen new fuchsias from our fave specialist grower B & HM Baker, to add to the four we recently purchased from The Gardening Club. We're on our way to recreating our collection, peeps - fingers crossed the bloody gall mite doesn't get to this new locale...

I have not, of course, forgotten that it is (regardless of bank holidays) still a Tacky Music Monday! The boys and I (obviously) also spent a lot of time sat in their large and rambling garden, enjoying the sunshine - and playing loads of camp music. Like this one...

A block-buster of a collaboration, it not only features the divine Alaska of house favourites Fangoria, but also Baccara(!!), La Prohibida, La Terremoto de Alcorcón, and myriad other Spanish popstrels such as Marta Sánchez, Chenoa, Ruth Lorenzo, Nancys Rubias, Soraya Arnelas, Rosa López, Vicky Larraz, Boris Izaguirre, Javiera Mena, Innocence, and Alberto Jiménez (Miss Cafeína). ¡Muy bien!

Various Artists - World Pride 2017 Madrid anthem - A quien le importa

That's just the thing to not only round off a lovely long weekend, but also to remind us that is is less than two weeks before we will be back in Spain... for our twentieth anniversary!

Have a good week, one and all...