Harvest

The farmer is probably glad he got at least some of his harvest in before the rain arrived overnight.

Still no rain

Clouds sweep in from the sea across Brighton, but still we have no rain.

Honeysuckle

The Boss likes the smell of this plane but I can find lots of better ones.

Lost, stolen or strayed

It was there in February.

Snow in July

It might look like snow but it's just some sort of fungus growing on a fallen tree trunk.

Stripes

This picture was taken three weeks ago and the corn is much riper now.

Go on, Boss, throw the ball

I love running through the long grass chasing a tennis ball.

From the Boss: Actually, Fern, that's clover, not grass.

Afternoon sky

From the Boss: I'm sure it was my mother who told me the fashion gurus said, 'Blue on green should not be seen'. It would seem that Mother Nature doesn't give a toss for the opinion of the fashion gurus!

Evening sky

Morning sky

Roedean

Standing high on the cliffs just east of Brighton and on the route to the kennels is Roedean, one of the country's leading girls' schools.

Water!

I wanted a drink but I must say the mud was a bit thick. The Boss wasn't best pleased!

The dewpond

After so long without rain, the dewpond is beginning to look a bit dried up.

Cooling down

The week before my stay in kennels was pretty warm so it was good to find some long grass in the shade of a tree to help me cool down a bit.

While Fern's away

From the Boss: Fern is in kennels for a week while Mrs Boss and I are in France so I thought I would just sneak in another picture from central Brighton. The green-painted house is the narrowest house in the city, and probably one of the narrowest in the country.

Meanwhile, back in Stanmer

We went to Stanmer Woods last Saturday only to find a sponsored run was taking place - the Race for Life in aid of research into breast cancer. Not all the runners seemed to be running! I would have been happy to join in, but the Boss said we should go into another part of the woods.

War memorial

Just round the corner from the Royal Pavilion is Brighton's war memorial. The inscription along the top is a quotation from verse 16 of Ecclesiasticus, chapter 41: "A good life hath its number of days: but a good name shall continue for ever" and the central panel lists various theatres of World War I.

We will leave the town centre tomorrow and get back to Fern's walks.

A sneaky peep

Before we leave the Pavilion, just a quick peep inside the entrance hall to get a very weak flavour of what might it be like inside.

The Indian Gate

The southern entrance to the Pavilion grounds is the Indian Gate.

That sign could do with cleaning!

Victoria

Queen Victoria was the niece of George IV. She disliked the Royal Pavilion and, I think, only visited it once. Her statue stands across the road from that of her uncle, whom she faces with, I think, a look of disapproval. She had all the furniture and fittings removed to Windsor and sold the building to the town in 1850 for £50,000, thinking the building would be pulled down. Luckily, it wasn't. Then, back in the 1960s or 70s, there was another suggestion that the Pavilion be demolished to provide space for...

...a bus station!

George IV

This statue of King George IV was erected in 1828 "by public subscription". It was he who had the Royal Pavilion built and although by all accounts he was not a popular monarch, the people of Brighthelmstone (as I think the town was known in those days) must have been grateful to him for putting the town on the map. This statue stands just outside the Pavilion grounds by the north gate. I always think it wrong that he is not looking at the Pavilion!

The Pavilion Lawns

Change the clothes and this could almost be a scene from 200 years ago - or is my imagination running away with me?

And again

A battery of rocket launchers?