Admin1 has been playing Assassin’s Creed Origins, a vast open-world game set in Egypt, circa 57BC. Some effort has gone into making it accurate, with consultant historians and linguists, and it’s undeniably impressive.
Here’s an eagle’s-eye view of Alexandria at sunset, taking in the Hippodrome, the museum, the famous library, the theatre, docks and ending up at the Ancient Wonder Pharos lighthouse, rediscovered in 1968.
There are also pyramids and the Sphinx…
…and, of course, cats:
Meanwhile, Admin1 is reading The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas and Admin2 is reading The Other Mother by Michel Bussi.
A very wet day: 25mm and counting. Nonetheless our dining companions turned up in their raincoats, enjoyed a lovely meal with us and scored 10 on the GWQ.
A virus-shaped chestnut pod collected by Admin1 on the way to an unscheduled spot of work.
We put our fruit bowl outside to entice the fruit flies out of the kitchen and the tits went for the fruit instead. But here is a starling of sense eating the bird food.
Criss-cross clouds. We’ve also had the pleasure of seeing a couple of Perseid meteors this week.
First one we’ve seen all year. Photo is a bit subdued because it was taken though the window at an angle.
Yums!
Admin2 is rereading Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson which is disturbingly Leeds-based.
More rain, and at last a bow!
A (mostly) cold meal this evening: salad, cold meats, pigs in blankets, jacket potatoes, tuna, boiled eggs, freshly baked rolls and fruit salad with strawberries, raspberries and blackberries from our garden. We scored 10 on the GWQ thanks to Dave and thanks also for his heroic gardening efforts.
More stormy weather today, and this beast briefly had a splendid 
It hasn’t rained for two weeks but it bucketed down today, accompanied by thunder. It has only rained for 10 days so far this month, but we’ve had over 100mm of precipitation. Interesting, huh?
Admin1 is reading London Bridge Is Falling Down by Christopher Fowler. Admin2 is reading Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer.
Hottest day of the year so far: 31.1°C.
Well that’s how it was billed, but nearly all the chalk was in one patch (exception for ELMO LOVES YOU next door to us) and Auds and Bobs preferred to draw all over our patio. Admin1 is reading Dark Memories by Liz Mistry, a confusingly overpopulated crime novel set in Bradford which belongs more in the misery-lit genre. Admin2 is reading The Golden Rule by Amanda Craig; a corny Cornish gothic romance overlaid with trendy topical talking points (and impossible to believe that a former advertising strategist dealing with a couple of public-facing characters would not have cleared everything up with an internet search). Yesterday was our warmest day this year: 30.7°C.
A bright blue band low in the sky. Probably the last noctilucents of the season.
A pillar of darkness between the werewolf on the left and the fine upstanding man on the right.
Admin1 is reading An Uncertain Place by Fred Vargas. Admin2 is reading The Royal Secret by Andrew Taylor.
A parhelion in a wispy cloud on a sunny day at last, following a night of noctilucent clouds.
This pretty fruit is called Matisse.
Hello, pretty patterned fly-by-day moth. We look forward to golden eggs and stripy caterpillars on the ragweed. Oh, and hello Fiona too. Long time since we’ve had a house guest.
Our new combined clock, thermometer and flowerpot.
Donkeys (go, Audrey!):
Many, many seagulls (and distant dolphins leaping above the waves but too far away to photograph):
Scrumptious fish and chips from 
And finally, let’s all go down the…
A wonderful 20th wedding anniversary trip was had by all! Well, apart from Dave and Bob, the latter of whom had his bubble burst at primary school and they have to isolate 🙁
Happy Birthday Chris!