Along with millions of others who never pick up a racket from one year to the next  I watch Wimbledon. Last night it was young Andrew Murray who finally won though to the next round after a rather patchy match.

At the moment we have the builders in – when they finally arrive for the day. This can mean any time between 8.30 and 11 30 am – more often the latter. We thought it was a small job – just a roof repair on an out building  - but they’ve managed to extend it to 10 days so far. Fortunately we are paying by the job rather than the hour. One of them will go off for a spade, a special one he can’t work without,  or to the post office ( 5 doors way) and then doesn’t reappear for 4 hours..

You perhaps associate the word ‘guerrilla’ with something wild and dangerous, but guerrilla gardening is something rather different.  Around here though it is part of an increasing frustration at the slow progress or inaction of those in authority. Because of the recession the local council has had to cut back services – although not pay for its many officials. One of the first thing to go in this ward was planters or rather their contents. Bright, sometimes gaudy, blooms that brightened up the area, especially in those places where individual gardens are few and far between.  It was agreed more than a year ago that the actual planters could be used by local people to grow crops. Then came the frustrating bits – you have to have insurance, you need a licence, soil must be tested for toxins and all the rest.  In the meantime we’ve had an election and many councillors have been replaced. And so we had to start negotiations all over again – with no effect whatsoever..

Hadrian's wall has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. English Heritage, a government organisation in charge of managing the historic environment of England, describes it as "the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain".  It was a defensive fortification in northern England, and it marked the border of the Roman Empire when it was at its height in the 2nd century.  It was the most heavily fortified border in the Empire. In addition to its role as a military fortification, it is thought that many of the gates through the wall served as customs posts, to allow trade and levy taxation.

Everyone in business has to write business letters at some time or other, but don't worry, the art of writing business letters is not rocket science and doesn't require mastering a huge amount of knowledge. Anyone can learn it in just a few days.  There are a few "rules and regulations" that separate a business letter from an informal letter.

Most people would agree that spring is for lovers, so is any other time for that matter, because people can fall in love any time, any place and anywhere (to quote the famous Martini advert), and it can happen under the most peculiar of circumstances. I first spoke to my husband when I was waiting for him to finish with the ironing board. My daughter met her future husband in a shared college kitchen where she was astonished to see him defrosting frozen mashed potato. She even wrote home about it.  It took three years before they got together. My in-laws met on top of a bus, so must have made arrangements to meet again very quickly,  and my parents met in the pouring rain outside a cinema. My father proposed half an hour later and mom only took a few weeks to say 'yes'.