Sunday 27th May - Hot

Within the last week summer seems to have finally arrived, suddenly and quite unannounced.  After a month's solid rain the clouds have parted and left the country bathing in a sub-continent-like heat-wave. Barbecues are organised, the beach gets crowded, and everyone starts to get very sunburnt. Nearly everyone I saw in the supermarket over the weekend were buying bags of ice cubes too, as if they were in imminent danger of melting if they weren't bought that day. Just like when it snows you get the impression that we just aren't prepared for any slight fluctuation in climate, even if it does happen at least once every year. 

The other thing you notice is the amount of body parts suddenly on show - body parts which should never really see the light of day. Pasty white limbs, flabby bellies and unsightly hair are now visually on offer everywhere you look, as if the right to display them were under immediate jeopardy. The new rule at my work allowing shorts to be worn to the office has revealed pairs of legs which may not have seen the light of day for 20 years or more. 

I was even shocked to be standing at the railway crossing on Friday, only to after a minute or so realise that the woman standing next to me, waiting for the gates to open, was wearing just a bikini. And carrying a plastic shopping bag. She obviously thought it was hot enough to just nip out to do her shopping in what was effectively just her underwear - which is what a bikini is by the way, not appropriate clothing alternative for the summer months, just a bra and knickers designed for going in water. For what it was worth she was pretty good looking, but I couldn't help but wonder what I'd look like myself if I'd just popped down the shops in nothing but my pants. Maybe I'm being a bit old-fashioned, just seemed over the top to me. Not sure where I put my wallet if I went shopping in nothing but my pants anyway.

Yesterday I myself contributed to the stereotypes of the heatwave by going to the cricket and getting highly sunburnt. I wouldn't change it though, there's something about the sunshine that doesn't just burn skin, it also warms the soul, makes you happy.