I am watching the rain. The fat, heavy drops are cleansing the street of summer detritus. It’s the heralding of autumn that is still a few weeks distant yet. August always seems ripe with the promise of heady summer, but the actual experience is often damper than anticipated. Or perhaps that’s just the Celtic experiences of my youth. Yet, I am enjoying the spectacle. I feel a certain licence to just relax. To observe. The rain has provided me with my own personal oasis of calm and tranquility.