With the blue sky above, the silhouette of the passion flower on the arches over the terrace looks hand-made. The tendrils move, without being seen, into different curlicues every day. The stem is brought closer to the wire, gradually. The green fruits hang down, with the little three-pointed stamen of the flower at the apex… lots of them this year! It’s been an early spring I think, because there were still flowers on this creeper in July last year, and already the fruit is a reasonable size. It has come from a garden behind, up and over the wall. I trained it onto wires, and it seems quite happy. If we come back in September, maybe they will be orange and ripe to eat, with such a long season.
The leaves of the plant look like beaten metal, and I am tempted to use them as a template for a little fence or gateway… find a blacksmith who can do this in Brighton.
Breakfast on the terrace is bearable, lovely actually – then the heat rises to 36°C. Even the weekly market packed up at midi, stalls dismantled in a matter of minutes, and the new white garlic had to be retrieved from the van!
Thunder today, bringing the swifts lower to catch the insects – screaming around in adolescents gangs, over the rooftop and into the street, low, synchronised. The little lizard peeps out, watching the ants on the wall, salivating I expect!
