I’m delighted to say that we’ve uploaded the new AMB website onto our UK server. Now follows a couple of weeks of testing as we, and our team of testers, put the new website through its paces. So it’s a minor celebration that we do this evening and heave one big sigh of relief too.

There are a few more articles to finish, photos to drop in and things to tweak but the overall website is looking great. While I had thought the new website would be launched in September, it now looks like being August instead.

Away from computers, we continue to have fantastic weather with temperatures soaring into the 37C/98F and a few dips in our pool have been called for. By 8am this morning the cicadas were already in fine voice; an indication of the hot weather in preparation. And the sky remains, as it has been for several days, a stunning blue.

Sitting outside rather early this morning with Happy Lappy, I chanced to hear and then photograph my arch-enemies; Herons. I find their form almost pre-historic in style and similar to a Pteradactyl. On the subject of reptiles and things, I must admit to a certain amount of hesitation when popping in to the loo after my snake episode but I had a super surprise the other day with the return of Gordon, our cute Gecko.

A few weeks ago he’d spent a couple of days in our kitchen and then one morning scuttled out of the window. These are dear little creatures and a pleasure to come across. During the hot days of summer, they find shade behind our wooden shutters and skitter off into the eaves of our house when it’s time to close our shutters for the night. Some wear battle scars (a tail lost in some inconvenient argument with a cat) while others are fine bodied fellows; sadly Gordon has lost his. However, we are very polite and don’t like to mention it and besides, even without his tail, he still sticks like Velcro to the ceiling!