A poem by reader Carol Plunkett of Rownhams, inspired by the mini-heatwave.

Escapism

Those little cirrus strips of cloud

Dissecting blue from blue 

Their feathered fronds and lozenged loops

Opaque where sky breaks through 

Declare a day of dalliance 

And dare the drab to dance

They beckon beggars to break free

And leave today to chance

For breath is meant for breathing in

In deep delicious draughts

And eyes should fill to overflow

With thoughts adrift on rafts

Where fingers trail in tranquil streams

Not lost, but time-suspending

Until tomorrow reasserts

This day is never ending