The swallows are back, hurrah! Now summer has officially begun. The bats came back and started their dusk aerobatics over Easter, but I always feel summer is on its way when you look up into a clear blue sky and see that beautiful, endless swoop. Somehow, it manages simultaneously to remind you of childhood summers never ending and also to be intensely in the moment, as the swallows are only a summer visitor and their time is precious with us. The feeling is magnified by this glorious weather - we are spending hours out the garden and the temperatures are more like June than April.

Yesterday we went to the garden centre and got our summer annuals for hanging baskets and pots. I don't know if it is because I am more interested in plants now, but there is definately an improvement each year in the variety and range of these plants. Of course there is always a need for old favourites such as petunias and lobelia, but even these come now in such a wide range of colours, foliage, type of blossom etc. We selected a variety and planted up our baskets and pots - now looking forward to them growing.

Watched "The Queen" on DVD last night over a delicious chicken and mango curry. An excellent performance by Helen Mirren that really drove home the point that the royal family do seem to live in this extraordinary bubble of protocol and tradition that effectively acts as a stifling blanket. Their remedy for most ills seemed to be to go on a good walk and to blast some innocent Scottish wildlife into the hereafter. I found myself veering between feeling sorry for them as individuals but even more strongly loathing the institution they inhabit and longing for its end, along with the hereditary flummery that goes with it.

Today we woke up early after a very good night's sleep and took Andy over to Tredegar House - we like it there. Their rhododendrons were in flower, and the iris were just starting round the lake. Nice and quiet so no problems with Andy wanting to chase other dogs but because it was early, lots of rabbits were out so Andy went nuts over them. I just wish we could let him off the lead as I really would love to see him at full pelt.

He supervised me closely while I was doing the ironing via a commanding sprawl on the bed. I was reminded of a Roman emperor surveying a consignment of slaves. There is a delicious smell wafting up the stairs as I write from a beef casserole along with some cracked wheat.

Andrew is in the garden - the pond now has a small fountain running off a pump which was installed by a "pond doctor" on Saturday morning. He rolled up his trousers and paddled around in the pond barefoot, sorting out the pump which has a UV cleaning filter on it as well as the fountain which apparently contributes to the oxygenation of the water. He also gave the pond a kind of hoovering to remove the layers of sediment that have accummulated since its inception last August. With all the building work going on around us still, it is quite dusty and I was not surprised by the amount. This has noticeably improved the clarity of the water and should help to maintain a healthy pond through the summer. I am already amazed by how much life is in there. Today we were looking at the freshwater snails and the baby water boat men. The sound of the gentle bubbling trickle of the water is hypnotically restful - we love it.

Work tomorrow - and a busy week ahead with two days out of the office. Tuesday is the Flytipping Forum in Pontypool and Wednesday is London. The following week I'm off as Andy goes in for his nadger-ectomy on Friday morning, so I will be supervising the care of the convalescent.