Felt rotten last night. Rough cold/ flu symptoms. Packed up and started long involved trip home. Ponteland first to collect SJs camping stuff. Then Ambleside to collect Victorian stuff for exhibition in Sept. Then Eccleston to deliver SJs stuff. Then home to unpack. Journey took nine hours when all I wanted was to go to bed!!

Simply beautiful day. Spent most of it with group of friends on the beach with the gang of kids in the sea and by turns in the dinghy with A. Sun sand sea and glass of white wine. What could be better.

Returned to N E with metal detector. Didn't sleep much last night. Spent some considerable time at the 'cow restaurant'. No sign of ring. Into the orchard and went though the two remaining piles of grass. No sign of ring. Convinced it has been eaten by cows. 6 days to pass through then metal detector over cow pats? Started to pass over the orchard in Meter strips. Second pass it buzzed!! 9 inched down in the grass and resting on the soil was my ring!!!! How luc...

Early start for drive up to Beadnell. No problems and arrived at 10.am just in time to unload, pick up the children and head off to garden at NE. All well there but enormous growth of mystery plants in border. Cut them back enormously but too spectacular to destroy completely. Spent much of the day cutting hedges, doing borders. Managed to find a guy flailing the hedges in the village who came and did the whole drive which was a huge bonus. Right at the end, I ...

Cleared up and set out for home via Ponteland. A lovely interlude with good weather and excellent food.