"LIFE'S TOO SHORT TO EAT BAD NUTS"

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Perching here and gathering my thoughts ...

It's still too damn hot!

12 August 2003 ~ 11:05

Well, to expound upon a topic I wrote about the other day, and as you all know, I got back from Boston last Wednesday morning to blazing, record-setting temperatures in Britain, the south in particular. Boston had been warm and muggy, very humid but in a pleasant, Mediterranean sort of way, with temps probably in the 80s. Sitting outside in Mark's folks' garden was very enjoyable, sipping a coke and having a game of cards.

Here in England, I'd describe the weather as more akin to torture. It reached 101 in Gravesend, Kent, on Sunday�the highest UK temperature since records began in 1659�and the UK has kept records longer than any other country. It really is a killer. Please bear in mind that over here only the bigger shops and newer offices have air conditioning, and practically nobody has it in their house. Until recent years it's just not been needed.

Riding around on a bus is horrendous (no A/C there either) and the London Underground is like an oven. My mum and I spent a hefty part of Saturday sitting in McDonald's just to keep cool, while on Sunday we went to a nice multiplex air-conditioned cinema (saw 'What A Girl Wants.' Good film).

It's our pets I feel most sorry for, with their little fur coats they can't take off. I've put a bowl with an inch of cold water out for them when they've had playtime the last few days. Molly put her front paws in and Sky drank some then had a little paddle. I hope it cooled her.

I'm now seriously reconsidering any thoughts I had of retiring or buying a holiday home in a warmer climate, especially as retired people cannot always afford to run air-conditioning even if they have it. Maybe just spending the winter months in Florida or Nice would be a better idea. Or maybe we should just go and live in Amsterdamn! After all, they all speak English and Mark would no doubt have great delight in 'partaking' his old age away!


Stored nuts | Future acorns


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