I love our little walks into town, which are full of serendipity. On the day we went to Hutchinson Square, for example, we also checked out the Bulgarian Food Shop (file under: Definitely Return), and two more charity shops (one with cafe); plus we scoped out a Filipino restaurant for future reference.

Sometimes the expedition includes a coffee:



There's always a view:




There's the Library, which I adore:


And there's usually something of interest on the estate as we walk through:


This week, the TT has been very much in evidence. We're now two days into practice week, and there are already lots of bikes, a very definite buzz, and that distinctive smell, which I've not encountered since I lived here.

I can understand why I loved this period as a kid. So different and exciting. Now, I'm in two minds... It's great that the increased throughput helps local businesses, but it's undeniably noisy and disruptive. The vast majority of bikers ride sensibly, but we've already had someone arrested for doing more than 100 mph in a 50-mph zone... A lot of locals do their best to stay off the roads for these weeks, and even as pedestrians, we're careful about the routes we take.

Our close-but-not-urban Union Mills loop will also be a bit more restricted for the duration, as access will be closed off on practice and race days. We sneaked in a lap at the weekend while things were still normal:



On the home front, we've had the first asparagus of the year, and the first strawberries:


And various things are happening in the garden. The roses at the front of the house are doing a Jack-and-the-beanstalk impression, but haven't settled down to make flowers yet. You get the impression they're teenage roses.

And the picture at the top shows our unexpected purple geranium. Very much at home, and pumping out flowers:


It's an interesting time of year, that's for sure.