A good start to the Bank Holiday weekend. First, lovely late May weather, the day dawning bright and clear, the sun rising through a blue sky flecked with the merest traces of cloud. And warm enough to sit and have the first coffee in the garden in shorts and a t-shirt.
Second, strolling through the Beechwoods under the dense canopy that has emerged over the last month and now creates shifting patterns of light and shade. Song reveals the presence of birds in the hedges, undergrowth and high in the treetops, but the leaves hide them from view and only calls and snatches of trills give away their identity.
Third, coffee and croissant and conversation in Balzano’s. Outside the flower seller brings colour to the pavement. Inside staff laden with bread, rolls and savoury dishes shuttle backwards and forwards from the bakery. Customers settle at the tables and relax with papers, laptops or each other. The counter is busy serving fresh Italian delights – olives, cheeses and meats – to go with the crusty, still warm, bread.
Photos: Balzano’s, Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge, May 2017