It rained from two o’clock and did not stop until six. Sofia had spent a year worrying about exactly this and then, at the moment it began, laughed and asked someone to find the umbrellas.
Rain is not the problem people think it is
Flat grey light at noon is much harder. Rain gives you wet stone, shine on the grass, umbrellas as frames, and — most usefully — an excuse for everyone to stand very close together.
What it costs you is time. Everything takes twice as long, so build slack into the afternoon and stop apologising for the weather in front of your guests. They take their cue from you.
And then, for eleven minutes
At half past six the cloud broke behind the hills and the whole valley went gold. We were outside in under a minute. Everything in the last part of this gallery happened in the time it takes to make a cup of tea.
