well I haven’t blogged in about a week,but I have a really really good excuse this time: sun. It has been *almost* hot for one full week – this is british summer. blink and you’ll miss it. this is the only week I will get to wear my sandals and linen shirts. you might think, that because it’s only june, there’s probably still plenty of chance of warm weather ahead. but you would be wrong. i’ll never forget my first summer here. about the middle of july, there were ten sunny days of 30C weather in a row. i put away my duvet and scarfs, broke out the sunglasses, and tidied the bikini line in preparation. then, just as suddenly, it got chilly and wet again. after a week or so, i was complaining to a co-worker, asking when it was going to get warm again, and when summer would return. she said, deadpan, “that was it!” I was so sure she was joking, i laughed out loud.

two full summers and no tan later, i understand. my bathing suit is rotting in the back of a drawer.

the worst thing about british summer is how much people moan about it. you’d think the entire nation had just been transported in a blazing fireball to the middle of the saharan desert, for all the bitching they do. like the wicked witch of the west, “i’m melting, i’m melllllllltinngggggg!!!!” these are the same people who start wearing tanktops and flipflops before the crocuses even break snow cover. then they like to go on holiday to places like morrocco and the french riviera, and *still* complain about the weather. it’s completely illogical.

and of course, no place here has air-conditioning, *proper* air-conditioning. they have chillers, which are basically just window fans blowing lukewarm air on you. you might as well leave your fridge door open to cool the house down – you’d be hard pressed to raise a goosepimple. because there is pretty much no need to invest sums of money in a real appliance which would get one week’s worth of use a year. and the tube is an oven – about 10C warmer below ground, stuck in a tin can on rails, which they cant do anything about, because the whole system is so antiquated. but again, it’s not exactly a funding priority, since the rest of the year, who cares? these days, by the time my 15 minute journey is over, i need a fresh pair of underwear.

but i will say that personally, for the most part, i like being hot. i pointed out to jonno that this is the first week in a year where I haven’t complained about being chilly. i’d also like to point out that about 3 weeks ago, i still had the heating on. i was still keeping my cardigan at work.

so, if I love sun and warmth so much, why the hell am i electively living in london, of all the godforsaken wet and dreary places?

damned if i know.

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