A dry afternoon – brighter in the Marches than further east, according to the forecast. How about a walk over to Hurst Farm and Aldenham? The skies were certainly very promising, but there’s a certain inevitability about that bank of heavy cloud that rolls in from the north-west, outstaying its welcome on the still afternoon. Inevitable, too, is the sky clearing again as we arrive back at the car in the gathering dusk.