Uncharacteristically sweet smelling.

The 'font of all knowledge' returned from the airport yesterday lunchtime.The first flight of the day from Londons Heathrow airport with British Airways was again on time and 100% full . I'd like to think that it was a clear sign that the economy is recovering but it's just as likely to be the fact that this is the peak tourist season and if the flights aren't full now they never will be. Security at Terminal 5 has reverted to that recognizably British state of surly inefficiency with the lines stretching back into the main terminal and taking 35 minutes to clear. The airport operator seems to have difficulty recognizing that you need more staff,not less, at peak travel periods.

The two boyz heard the car coming down the hill and were in a rapturous state by the time the 'font' arrived. A combined 45 kilogram mass went hurtling down the hill, ears flying, to say hello. When Wilf was a puppy he was remarkably quiet - he left the barking to his little brother. More recently he seems to have developed a vast repertoire of noises . I can only presume this learnt behaviour is courtesy of his rare stays in the local kennels where he has begun to mimic the other dogs. Anyway, yesterday in addition to the welcome barks our little valley had the pleasure of listening to a full symphonic treasury of squeaks, wails, howls,whoops and snorts all delivered at maximum volume and with maximum gusto. Anyone listening to the strange canine hullaballoo must think we torture the two little darlings with cattle prods.

This morning we went on a gentle walk around the fields. I'm going to have to start thinking about harvesting the lavender. Cut it too early and the August sun will dry out the roots, cut it too late and the oils will have burnt away. The two boyz spent twenty minutes exploring the lavender fields and have emerged from their adventure smelling uncharactersitically sweet. Long may it last.

Washed, brushed and waiting for a trim

Boy is it hot. Seven thirty in the morning and its already 24 degrees - the mercury will probably touch 40 today. The local farmer and his team have just arrived to help us cut the lupins in the fields to use as cattle feed. Their arrival is much to the delight of Wilf and Digby who see this as an excuse for ball games . The two troubadors got themselves so covered in weeds on their morning foray that they have had to be washed and brushed to get the worst of the debris out of their coats. For the next half and hour they will look sparklingly white and fluffy and then revert to their natural dishevelled look as they start exploring again. Later today, if I have the energy I'll give them a summer cut which will make maintenance of the little darlings easier. Their 50% rations diet is apparently having no effect on Wilfs waistline which continues to display a happy and contented curvature.

We sat outside by the pool until midnight last night with the boyz happily asleep by us. There was a thunderstorm far off across the valley in Tuscany. Every so often the night sky would be startled by bright flashes of lightning causing the owls that were nesting in the outbuildings to take wing. I would never have thought it possible that a dozen owls could be in the air at the same time. The sound of their whooping everytime they flew out was beautiful beyond measure.

Later today we'll be going off to Perugia to look at solar panels and wind turbines. We have managed to cut our energy usage by 17% over the last year but I'd really like to get it down by the same amount again.The problem with existing technology is that it isn't really that advanced - solar power is fine in the summer but near to useless in the cloudy winter. Windpower is fine in the winter but completely idle in the long still summer months. The bottom line is that the cost of the two systems is exorbitant . The capital cost is equivalent to something like 130 years of our current electricity usage.

Who designs security systems?

After last months robbery and injuries we have had a new and improved burglar alarm fitted. It promises to be all singing and all dancing , The man who installed it says it should be able to detect any bad'un getting to within fifty metres of the house. After the first night of living with the new system its clear there are some problems with its design . Firstly, the control panel looks as if it has fallen off the Space Shuttle and requires a doctorate in electrical engineering to operate it ( by the way, why is it that instruction manuals are written in some strange language that approximates to English but excludes all the important verbs ?). Secondly, the infrared detectors which have been carefully set so that they won't set of the alarm when a hedgehog wanders past have clearly got a mind of their own. Every time a hedgehog wanders past they go off. I put it down to teething troubles, the better half used a different phrase ( which I won't repeat ) at one o'clock this morning , then at two thirty and again at four. My first job this morning is to get the engineer down here to fix it.

It's another 33 degrees day ( 92 to those of you in the US ) without a cloud in sight. The two boyz have had their usual morning rosh ( rush out, saunter home ) and are now settled under the trees in the courtyard wondering what mischief lies in store for them. They had another coat trim yesterday to try to improve on the first attempt which left them looking rather unkempt.

30 degrees

One of the fun things about blogging is being reminded what a wonderful and diverse world we live in. I mentioned a couple of great blogs last week and recently came across a blog 'Romping and Rolling in the Rockies' (http://www.romp-roll-rockies.blogspot.com/) with some excellent pictures of the author mountain biking with her dogs in Colorado . I look longingly at the pictures of snow capped mountains every morning just to feel cool . The mercury got up to 30 degrees yesterday and is set to go higher today. The boyz were out at six this morning for their walk but after half an hour in the fields it was getting to be uncomfortably warm and they were delighted to get back into the shade of the courtyard. The better half has informed me that from now until the end of September we are moving onto Italian time - up at five , an afternoon doze between two and four and then to bed at midnight. I like the idea of an afternoon siesta but we'll see how far we get with this latest idea of getting up early at five tomorrow morning .

In the wider world the scandal over legislators expenses in the UK parliament has now entered its eleventh day. This afternoon we may get a vote on whether the Speaker, an ancient and venerable position, should be removed from office for complicity. The last time a speaker was removed happened was in 1652 . Don't let it be said that popular democracy is dead!

This afternoons view across the new olive trees towards Todi

Have been in the fields this afternoon looking at the new olive and oak trees we planted earlier this year. With all the rain they had in March they have been well and truly watered in. Now, with the temperatures rocketing they are beginning to look heat stressed. I'll need to find a way of getting a hose pipe from the cistern into the fields so that they can be watered through the summer. Much to their joint chagrin the boyz haven't been allowed out with me today. When we came back from Rome we found a very large dead viper by the side of the pool. Venomous snake bites are something I'd rather not add to my list of experiences as a dog owner and as a result the long grass where the snakes are breeding is out of bounds.

Terminal 5 - better to arrive in than depart ?

Took the Heathrow Express to the airport yesterday morning. As always it left on time and took me straight to Terminal 5 in comfort, punctually and with the minimum of hassle. Cost was $50 for a return ticket which isn't cheap - but I guess you pay for efficiency.

London's Terminal 5 has had a bad press but it's now functioning smoothly - when you arrive at least. I was off the plane from Rome on Tuesday and through immigration within 5 minutes and on the Heathrow Express to the centre within 10.

Departing yesterday morning was another matter. No sooner had I arrived at the security lines than the staff closed up that section for their morning break and directed us to the security lines at the other end of the airport. Believe me, that terminal is quite a walk from end to end when you're carting luggage. The screening staff at security , when you eventually get there, have developed a peculiarly hectoring manner ' Get your liquids ready - Get your liquids ready now!' is the brusquely shouted mantra that greets you when you get to the x-ray machine. I almost thought they were going to start yelling Raus! Raus!

Security wouldn't let me carry my passport with me - which I think must be a first at any airport I've ever been through. Working all day at security must be a thankless task but Terminal 5 has trained their people to provide one of the most charmless impersonal services imaginable. I wonder why British Airways, who operate out of Terminal 5 , doesn't raise the service levels with the British Airports Authority - does no one recognize what a bad reflection of Britain and the British this lack of civility generates? At Kennedy or LAX the staff face the same pressures but don't descend into rudeness or assume a warden style approach to passengers. Security at Rome can irritate with its lack of logic, particularly in high summer, but the staff always retain a sense of humanity and decency. Britain seems to have lost something in its quest for efficiency.

BA to Rome left on time both going and returning and arrived early both ways. The airline has its detractors but I'm not one of them.