Sam hadn’t reckoned much to the idea of a jello-shot-fuelled beach-style party in the pub, but the celebration I had dreamt up for the solstice was a much quieter affair.

‘Oh, yes,’ Hope said keenly, ‘I like the sound of that.’

Why was I not surprised? I think I could have suggested anything and she would have loved it.

‘I thought,’ I quickly carried on, in view of such a receptive audience, ‘that as there would be longer to get organized, that maybe it could be a slightly bigger event, an amalgamation between the pub and the café. Perhaps with something set up here, right in the middle, to bring the two businesses together.’

‘A traditional solstice beach party, with a Caribbean twist,’ said Sam, looking off into the distance.

Now even he was getting into the swing of it.

‘We could have cocktails,’ Hope added. ‘With little umbrellas on sticks.’

‘And mocktails,’ Sam countered.

‘The curried crab your mum made last week was such a fascinating fusion, Hope,’ I said. ‘I bet she’s got lots of other clever combo recipes tucked up her sleeve, hasn’t she?’

‘Absolutely,’ Hope agreed.

‘But what about the weather?’ frowned Sam. ‘That isn’t guaranteed, is it?’

‘Is anything in life guaranteed?’ Hope laughed. ‘We can’t let a little thing like the weather stop us, Sam.’

‘Worst-case scenario,’ I said, quickly thinking of a backup plan, ‘if it rains, we’ll have the first half of the party in the café and then walk to the pub via the beach, or start in the pub and walk to the café. There’ll be some way around it, but it’s the solstice we’re talking about, remember? The sun wouldn’t dare not to shine.’

‘But isn’t it traditional to watch the sunrise, not the sunset?’ Sam frowned again. ‘On the news they always show everyone at Stonehenge getting excited about the sunrise.’

‘Well,’ said Hope, ‘folk can still come to do that, but I think Tess’s right, a party in the evening as the sun is setting will be every bit as fun to celebrate, won’t it?’

‘Absolutely,’ I agreed.

Truth be told, I didn’t actually know all that much about the solstice, aside from the fact that it happened in June and that, after the bank holiday weekend, it seemed like the most logical date to pick for the next event.

‘Right then,’ said Hope, ‘hands up who wants to have an evening summer solstice celebration on the beach?’

We all raised our hands.

‘So, let’s get on with organizing it then,’ she announced.

Sam was quick to temper her keenness to forge ahead.

‘Let me speak to the council on Monday,’ he said. ‘Just to make sure we won’t be falling foul of any rules or regs we don’t know about.’

‘Oh yes,’ Hope relented, sounding a little deflated. ‘I suppose we should check.’