Back from a month holiday abroad - more to follow - it was such a joy yesterday to see thousands of happy tourists in shorts and T shirts glowing with health and happiness on the streets of London.

Queensway - my local thoroughfare - was bursting with smiling faces. Hyde Park - my local greenery - was succulent with the grass and trees that only rainy Britain has in the summer sun.

Fresh from Rome, I realised how much I adore this country on the rare occasions of sunshine.