My Birthday 2026

This year’s birthday treat was meant to be another Perambulation courtesy of Stefi Orazi of Modernist Estates, this time Richmond and Ham. I had – of course – booked us a night in the Richmond Premier Inn and we’d been going to spend the 13th and 14th August there. However, at the beginning of the week it became apparent that very high temperatures were forecast for the Thursday, and it dawned on me that it wasn’t going to be ideal temperatures for walking, plus we were both a bit worried about leaving Cassius unattended without us around to fan him/open windows where necessary. Our petsitter Sam would have been coming in, but she’s really only paid to feed him and attempt the odd stroke (which I’m sure he is unimpressed by). So we cancelled the hotel and stayed at home, though I did still have the two days off.

In the event, Thursday 13 August did prove to be the hottest day in the UK so far in 2026, with the top temperature, of 38.1 degrees C, recorded at Kew Gardens, a tantalising less than one mile from the hotel we'd booked into. The hotel would, hopefully, have been air-conditioned but I think the walk would have been a bit of a slog. I'm hoping we can rebook it for some time in the autumn, though as Ruth has just started a new job it might be a month or so before we can go.

 

Proximity of the Premier Inn Richmond to Kew Gardens

I spent the weekend of my birthday in Wales with family – sans Ruth, as she’s no longer leaving Cassius for more than a night. Mum, Dad and I spent the Saturday night at Dave’s, where we had dinner in the garden courtesy of their outdoor pizza oven. Dave did the ovening bit while Alys worked hard in the kitchen assembling pizzas. After that we played Flip 7 which Huw won by some way, Nia maintaining that it’s just not her game.

Pizza oven

The following morning I made coffee courtesy of the mini-cafetiere I carry on most trips, plus a Disney princess mug. We had bacon bagels.

Several of us – possibly not including the kids, but they were hauled along anyway – decided we fancied a bit of a stroll, so we went to the Allt-yr-yn nature reserve for a walk – not somewhere I’d been before. A short drive from Dave’s house. The walk took in a section of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal that runs parallel to the M4 - Wikipedia suggests that this bit is the Crumlin Arm. This section wasn’t over-watery and certainly not navigable.

Late in the walk we got to an area with some rope swings, which I think perked the kids up.

After lunch we had several rounds of Racing Demon, which I almost won, but Nia refused to be beaten into second place and insisted on one final round, which she proceeded to win.

We had several varieties of cake, including an excellent Swiss roll made by Huw.

Huw's Swiss roll