To be fair, the rain (and there’s been plenty of it again in the midlands and north of the country) hasn’t really affected SW19 yet and anyway, these days the club has an all-singing all-dancing (all lighting and air-conditioned) roof, so there’s always at least one live game being played – until 10pm if necessary. This also means no walking, talking living corpse (Cliff Richard) singing in the rain on centre court which I can’t tell you how pleased I am about…

Yes, there’s been plenty of rain, flash floods and giant hailstones oop narrth, but to be fair, down here, we’ve just had wishy washy drizzle, a little of that Saharan sand-laden “heavy splatter-droppy dirty summer” rain (which gets your car covered in muck) and one day of 100% humidity and 28c temperatures (yesterday).

Today though (as I type) – and we’re back to type (so to speak) – middle of the year (the longest days of the year) and lights are on and its like the dead of night out there  - all very depressing and all too common it seems in 2012.

The jetstream has become well and truly stuck over middle of the UK at present (about 300miles further south than it should be) and in common with the summer of 2007 (remember those floods anyone?!) we are experiencing a cool, wet, blustery summer  - although to be fair, every summer since 2007 has been quite similar in terms of jetstream position.

Of course the local frogs are probably quite enjoying this damp weather - lots of nice lush vegetation, plenty of insects and plenty of moisture. Our kittens dragged in yet another squealing frog last night (which I rescued from under the sofa at dawn today). By my records, thats over twenty-five our cats have taken since August 2011 (although I've rescued many) and probably another twenty or so that the hens have had (and most of them they've eaten). 

Let me be clear here - cats are no threat to long term population sizes of garden birds (no matter what anecdotal evidence the less-than-scientific "Disney crew" excitedly spew forth in one's direction) but they are seemingly a real threat in our garden at least, to moths, butterflies and amphibians...

Our summer cuckoos have pretty-well all left now (it feels like they have only just got here eh? But I don’t think I’ve actually heard one for a month or so now) – so they won’t have seen a spring or summer in the UK this year!

The raiding parties (or what I call the raiding parties anyway  -  most others call them  the all too-firework-like “bangers” and “screamers”) of swifts have certainly arrived from Africa now.

These are yearling swifts, or young non-breeding swifts certainly – all making a bit of a nuisance of themselves to be fair and screaming at (and banging into) occupied nest sites on recce missions for next year’s breeding season.

I’ve been playing my swift call CD most days again (at dawn and dusk) and Anna and I have watched up to half a dozen swifts become very interested in our street and our house in particular.

I really hope a one or two find the entrance to my “swift palace” and remember it for next year – a big ask, but if you don’t ask you don’t get eh?!

It will be three weeks or so before the adult (or yearling) swifts in our skies are joined by this year’s fledglings – and only about a week after that and the vast majority will be gone for another 9 months – can’t believe that time is coming so quickly really….

Well… that’s all very depressing – is there anything worth grinning about at present, or anything to look forward to?

Well… three or four weeks, maybe six I suppose and all the heather on our local lowland heath and moor will turn a beautiful purple – something I’ve missed for years as I’ve always been on holiday somewhere hot at the time!

I’m certainly looking forward to that, as am I to the odd steamy evening in July or August when I might have time to visit the same moor at dusk and keep my eyes peeled for our mysterious local nightjar….

Then there’s always the tennis – on tv right now. I have played a bit of tennis in the past (that’s probably something of an understatement really, but we’ll leave it there) and always enjoy Wimbledon fortnight.

So yes…. with heather and nightjars and Wimbledon - There’s always something to grin about, even in this miserable dark summer!