steal my sunshine

It's not raining.

In fact, it's sunny. Even the most pessimistic of the ten-day forecasts doesn't mention the merest hint of precipitation. Oddly, my blog about preparedness was just hours before another massive flood in the UK, forcing thousands of people from their home and causing numerous variations on the joke that Stratford should now be referred to as IN Avon. And the deliciously ironic image of a swan gliding past the pub sign for The Swan.

Apparently this has been the wettest summer on record. This is the UK-we're talking CENTURIES here. And Europe is suffering a massive heatwave, causing hundreds of deaths and massive forest fires. It may not be global warming, but I don't think Mother Nature is overly impressed with us at the moment- I think this demonstrates the lack of balance in our relationship with the natural world very clearly.

I did thoroughly enjoy another news item this week about patio-heaters, the latest greenwash issue with retailers promising to stop stocking them. This is despite the increased demand from pubs now that smokers are banished outdoors (and on that point I quote Balki Bartokomous in saying "and now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy"). The one country-pub owner interviewed suggested that the people arguing against their use did without the airconditioning they happily use daily before being critical about the occasional use of patio heaters.


Had a conversation in the dark depths of winter with a relative from bright,breezy Cape Town who didn't understand why we kept talking about the darkness and dampness of the British climate.

Simple. Rubbish weather and darkness sucks. Particularly AFTER Christmas when you have nothing to look forward to, just the promise of weeks more dark days and rain. The national psyche is very much informed by the weather. I found myself responding to the fabulous forecast this morning- ironed a skirt, put in my contact lenses and applied make-up before leaving the house. I certainly wasn't alone in responding- there was gloss everywhere today, accompanied by a smattering of heels and a smidgen of decolletage. Office workers emerged at lunchtime blinking, mole-like, at the brightness, swarming local restaurants and scooping up sandwiches to enjoy in the park.

So it's going to be lovely for days on end.

What am I going to moan about now?