Wood smoke

We've come to Thaxted for the day. It's been a wonderful tonic, filled with great food, lovely sunny walks across the fields, and hours of doing nothing but sitting on a comfy chair by the fire with a glorious mug of tea in my hand. Sadly no one thought to actually light the fire, but I'm sure if we had, the blissfulness of the moment would have sent us into a coma.

I stuck my head out of the front door earlier on and the whole town smelt of wood smoke, which has to be one of the greatest aromas known to man.  The air was incredibly still and the moon was glowing magically in the sky; the merest silvery crescent flanked by Venus and Saturn.

My great friend, Tash came to stay last night, and we talked late into the night whilst eating silly biscuits. We were both students at the Northamptonshire music school and she's now a teacher there, which is a hugely comforting thought. The good work continues. We talked for hours about old times and what an important role the school had played in our lives. The council have now pulled funding from the music service (who cares, as long as the rich remain rich), so, as of September, it's becoming a charitable trust. I sincerely hope its work will be able to continue long into the future. 

350 years ago, Pepys spent the morning with his music tutor, Mr Birchensha, working on a setting of Davenant's poem, "This Cursed Jealousy. What is it?" After dinner, Pepys took himself on a trip to various establishments in the City to settle a number of debts. He had decided to get his accounts in order within a few days, fearing he'd over-spent in recent weeks. I know how he feels!