The hospitality industry and overseas workers

Workers from Eastern Europe work hard and earn every penny. However, when was the last time you were served by anyone English in a cafe or hotel? In our current (excellent) hotel everyone seems to be from Eastern Europe. In the Botanical Garden cafe all the catering staff seemed to be from Poland. There was a TV programme a few years ago suggesting British workers are work shy. Or is it cheaper to employ Eastern Europeans on minimum wages?

Further FTSE 100 falls

Not unexpectedly, the FTSE100 index has fallen further today and is now about 400 below its recent peak.

Dry!

Even though we have had some rain today, our garden is very dry. The grass is very dry and starting to turn yellow. In East Anglia it is not unusual for the lawns to be dry in August, but it is only mid-June!  Usually things recover well when cooler weather returns in the early autumn.  I gave everything a good soaking last night, but we need some heavy rain for a few days really.

"The Gondoliers" G&S

Nearly every year we go to a summer theatre held in a barn in a nearby village. They always do a Gilbert and Sullivan production. This year it was "The Gondoliers". As usual, for a totally amateur group, it was excellent. This has become part of our June landscape now. The Gondoliers was first produced in 1889.

FTSE 100 - up a bit?

The FTSE 100 share index is currently showing very modest gains, although a lot can happen in a day. Based on the continuing uncertainly in, and about, Europe, I'd expect volatile markets for a good while longer. Maybe after the situation in Greece becomes clearer and after the new budget, things might become more stable, even if lower?

Visit from old work colleague

This morning I had the pleasure of a visit from an old work colleague who retired a few years ago. It was good to catch up.  He finds plenty to do to fill his days including country dancing and restoring clocks.  Like me (I retired in 2008) he wonders how he found time to go to work!

Grass lawn

We have been fighting a battle with our front lawn. Despite it not being the warmest of springs, the garden is very dry (more so than usual) and we have patches of rough grass as a result of grass seeds blown in from a neighbour's garden which is kept partly wild on purpose. We are watering these patches regularly and they have been especially treated so the grass does not need as much water. We shall see.