fpb | An enchanted day

This was an exceptional day. From the beginning, the temperature, which had been oppressive in the last few days, had been perfect, warm but not stifling, with a pleasant light breeze. The sky was blue and sunny, and as I headed into town to get my copy, I found it oddly quiet and peaceful. Saturday is market day, and as a rule the centre of Ilford is crowded, noisy and freaking expensive. Today, however, it was peaceful.

The weather has held for the whole day. I just could not improve on it. I read, without disturbance, through an absolute masterpiece of a novel, full of novel insights on characters and situations we knew and loved, with music most of the time in the background. It will be a while before I have another such good day.