Monday 10th August 2026 - A Thank You & More and Less

Following on from the open day at PGL Overstrand Hall, I received this message from centre manager, Sarah – ‘A thankyou to everyone who attended the open day today - it was a lot busier than expected and we took just over £1000 for Nelsons Journey! I’d like to thank everyone for their patience and kindness; we really are a fantastic community. Also, a reminder about our HAF activity days over the summer advertised a couple of weeks ago.’  It was good to hear the open day was very well attended and raised a good sum for a charity which supports children who have suffered a bereavement.  I’ve added the poster, covering the HAF, Holiday Activities and Food, days at the bottom of this blog.  If you are interested, you will need to scan the QR code to book.

I suppose it’s the same in any year but 2026 does seem to be one with plenty of ‘more and less’.  The first more that comes to mind, is the sun.  What a summer we’re having with so much sunshine but then a lot less, in fact virtually no, rain.  Some have relished the warmth; others have found it uncomfortable.  As far as the lack of rain is concerned, this is a plus for tourists but a concern for gardeners (especially since the hosepipe ban) and farmers.  Farmers may be able to irrigate their crops but there is nothing like rain to swell vegetables and cereals.  The media reports have covered early harvests of cereals along with reduced yields and as a result, warnings of increased food prices.

This year there have been more painted lady and gatekeeper butterflies as well as hummingbird hawkmoths.  We’ve noticed less cinnabar moth caterpillars on the ragworts, which are now drying back.  Other years the ragworts, on a field edge where we walk, have been stripped of their leaves by the caterpillars.  On that same field edge, there are more grasshoppers this year, chirping on the long grasses.  On Saturday, I heard a grasshopper in our home.  Goodness knows why it came indoors but I was able to capture it, using Peter’s homemade bug catcher.  I set it free in an area of unmown lawn, which we’ve left to run wild for the ground nesting bees. 

One less that has pleased both of us, is the reduction in slug numbers this year.  Just a few in the spring which needed to be removed from plants but since then, virtually no damage and not a single one in the lettuces.  A bumper year, as mentioned in my last blog, with more larvae in the greengages.

Although I could instance other ‘mores and lesses’, I think that’s enough for this blog.  What it does show is; virtually no two years are the same.