From Penarth News, 21st June.

In Penarth today an on-shore easterly breeze (despite what the BBC weather chart says) is keeping it slightly cooler than in baking Cardiff – or London where temperatures are expected to reach 34C.

Today is the summer solstice – the longest day of the year – when Penarth is set to enjoy 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight. The sun  rose at 04:43 and sets at 21:31 .

The heatwave is expected to end tomorrow – as the nights start drawing in.

Welsh fans in Belgrade.

On a day of sad events in the news, this brightened my day.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/40247254/serbians-thank-wales-fans-for-donating-blood-for-shot-supporter

The title that escaped.

The title of a painting is significant. It reminds me of what was in my mind, or on my mind, when I worked on a canvas. What prompted me to choose that size canvas, why those particular colours and what was I trying to recall that seemed worth preserving?

Sometimes the title is the starting point. It may have been in my mind for a while and I can't settle until I've dealt with it. Then there is the finished painting, still without a title, which mocks me and demands I search for a few words which will make sense of the image I've produced.

Last night as I slept I thought of the perfect title for my current piece of work. By morning it had gone. The harder I try to remember the more it escapes me.

In defiance of a cold, very wet day.

Riding Along on the Crest of a Wave (and the sun is in the sky).

A long night.

I'm busy working at home and thinking about the night ahead. The General Election results will filter through in the early hours of the morning and I can't see me going to bed until there seems to be a clear result emerging. The thought of the country led by Theresa May is not a happy prospect but all the predictions seem to point that way. What a gloomy future if that's the case. I will watch the TV tonight and hope for a miracle!

A different coast, a different sea.

Last week I was on a road trip with my two sons through Dorset, Devon and Cornwall; never far from the sea, often on high ground (in campsites) and exposed to the elements. Sometimes stormy and very wet, there were also calm days sitting in the sunshine while they fished and I thought about images now trapped in my head which, in time, would be recorded on canvas. May is such a beautiful month. We drove through lanes of hawthorn resplendent in pink and white blossom. We walked through a country lane bordered by foxgloves, cow parsley and the delicate ragged robin. It was magical; I was back home in Monmouthshire, a child who walked lanes liked this on a daily basis and was always acutely aware of the beauty around me.

Cardiff knows how to throw a good party.

The Champions League Final comes to Cardiff next weekend and it will be immense. I have to somehow get to the studio to retrieve this and other paintings to work on at home. Otherwise it's a question of battling crowds, having to show ID and an almost impossible chance of parking or getting in on the train. All the roads will be closed in the centre and a temporary bridge will cross the street just below the studio. There's a lot going on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-39530585