It's been hot up here for a sustained period. We're talking 25C or more, every day for at least a couple of weeks. You could add a good 5C extra for the south too. I've never seen anything like it in this country, although it's still a lot cooler than I expect a summer to be. However, it's kind of interesting how the British people take to the Summer.
In Australia, people are fearful of the sun. We've seen what it can do to people, and are pumped full of propaganda to remind us not to burn. I don't think many people in my own generation can hear the words 'slip slop slap, rap' without breaking whatever is in their hands at that moment. But we've all seen people with skin cancer, or a thirty year old woman who looks 90, and take action to avoid that happening to us. That doesn't seem to happen in the United Kingdom. Parks are filled with stripped off office workers sizzling their tattoos. I think because it's so unexpected, people go a little mental. If you only have Summer once a decade, you make it count. I suppose it also saves people money on fake tan, something which is insanely overused by both males and females in the UK.
I also think that people don't know how to dress in the Summer either. I have a theory that nothing I could possibly wear would be inconspicuous. People either dress like they are on holiday in Spain, or just muster up whatever short clothing they can. So, you see men in sandals and socks, or with awful open t-shirts and weird shorts. It's very strange. Women seem to deal with it a little differently, by wearing as little clothing as possible. G-string bikinis in Princes Street Gardens is a pleasant diversion, but not exactly dignified.
Also interesting is the need to have Barbeques, particularly portable ones, which is an odd kind of mania.
Anyway, the whole thing has me intrigued, and the mass mania and purchasing of stuff would be similar to if there was sustained snow in, say, Sydney. People would make quickly melting snowmen in tiny patches of land and buy sleds and hot drinks much to the tutting and bitching of British people over there. There you have it, a perfect analogy.
Anyway, enjoy the sun.
In Australia, people are fearful of the sun. We've seen what it can do to people, and are pumped full of propaganda to remind us not to burn. I don't think many people in my own generation can hear the words 'slip slop slap, rap' without breaking whatever is in their hands at that moment. But we've all seen people with skin cancer, or a thirty year old woman who looks 90, and take action to avoid that happening to us. That doesn't seem to happen in the United Kingdom. Parks are filled with stripped off office workers sizzling their tattoos. I think because it's so unexpected, people go a little mental. If you only have Summer once a decade, you make it count. I suppose it also saves people money on fake tan, something which is insanely overused by both males and females in the UK.
I also think that people don't know how to dress in the Summer either. I have a theory that nothing I could possibly wear would be inconspicuous. People either dress like they are on holiday in Spain, or just muster up whatever short clothing they can. So, you see men in sandals and socks, or with awful open t-shirts and weird shorts. It's very strange. Women seem to deal with it a little differently, by wearing as little clothing as possible. G-string bikinis in Princes Street Gardens is a pleasant diversion, but not exactly dignified.
Also interesting is the need to have Barbeques, particularly portable ones, which is an odd kind of mania.
Anyway, the whole thing has me intrigued, and the mass mania and purchasing of stuff would be similar to if there was sustained snow in, say, Sydney. People would make quickly melting snowmen in tiny patches of land and buy sleds and hot drinks much to the tutting and bitching of British people over there. There you have it, a perfect analogy.
Anyway, enjoy the sun.
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