The Summer is Here!

The summer is here, the sun is shining and the garden is in full bloom. Ben loves gardening and the garden always looks great in the summer, but this year he’s really surpassed himself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it looking so lovely. It’s such a pleasure sitting out on warm evenings with Ben and the kids enjoying the fruits of his labour. Ben attributes the flourishing of the plants to the liberal use of manure, but I think that that’s a load of … rubbish! Only joking! Actually, the whole town seems to be in full bloom at the moment. Even the high street is adorned with beautiful floral displays. The council and local businesses have really done the town proud this year (as always).

I’m lucky enough to live in Garstang – a lovely little market town in Lancashire, quite close to Preston and Lancaster. Not only is the town very pretty, but it’s also an easy drive to the coast and to some incredibly beautiful countryside. This time of year we always take advantage of our location and go for long drives up and down the coast and into the nearby hills. It’s also quite close to the Lake District, which is simply stunning in beauty. And we always attend more than our fair share of garden parties, which is great! I love to meet up with family and friends at informal gatherings, enjoying good food and good company.

Actually, the last garden party we attended was more of a formal occasion – my friend Nikki’s engagement party. Nikki and Jack have been together for about ten years and they have a lovely little daughter called Julie. I thought that they would never get married as they always said that they didn’t need a piece of paper to make them happy. But then one day Jack proposed out of the blue and suddenly we had an engagement to celebrate. I think he only did it as an excuse for a party! And what a party it was!

Nikki and Jack looked fabulous – nicely tanned from their recent holiday in France, Jack wore a lovely rich blue suit and matching tie with a smart white shirt (I don’t know where they were from) and Nikki wore an amazing Emilio Pucci ruched printed dress from Selfridges. (I’m so envious!) And Julie looked so cute in her Victoria red and white flowers navy smockeddress, with navy knee high pom pom socks and Mary Jane style girl’s white patent shoes from Cachet Kids.

There was a barbecue (dutifully manned by Ben), a kids’ disco (which the adults seemed to enjoy more than the kids) and lots of party games – my particular favourite was a treasure hunt for Cadbury’s Cream Eggs, which I was particularly good at! (When it comes to locating chocolate there's nobody better!) I’m glad that Nikki and Jack are finally getting married, somehow it just seems right.