Interesting to read here of the conditions in 2006 in the UK. That was an exceptional summer, one of the warmest ever recorded. It was also very dry here in Cornwall; we had just four inches of rain in four months.

We've had more than our usual share of good, or at at least half-decent, summers since then. We've also had a run of very mild winters. This spring in England has been exceptionally dry and sunny. The wind has been in the east at times, which pegs temperatures back. But overall it's going to go down as a vintage spring. I have a deep Mediterranean tan already, and that's just from doing the gardening...