Dryslwyn (pic by me)
Phew! How is everyone coping with this recent visit by the sun on British Isles? Had your fill of fans and ice cream yet? I must admit, im currently typing this right now whilst camped under a giant fan which is going like the clappers, keeping my inbuilt 'Weather Whinge-o-meter' in check (all Brits have this when too much rain or sun arrives.) Im certain complaining about the weather was written into the Magna Carta alongside tea breaks and fish & chips but you know what? I think we are changing our habits because I have not heard (or read rather) much of it on sites like Twitter and Facebook, indeed most folks are actually ENJOYING this run of fabulous weather! Shock! Horror!
Even with heatwave warnings approaching 'level 3' (whatever this means) the griping about "its too hot mun" or "the plants could do with some rain now" are being kept at minimum. Or at least it has amongst my friends and aquaintances. Its wonderful waking up to glorious sunshine piling in through the curtains like rays of butter, eager to settle on your morning toast. Spain has had nothing on Britain for this last week and I feel for those Brits who have paid for a Spanish holiday to escape our usual grey and miserable summer, only to discover that the grass was for once greener (and more frazzled) on the UK side of the fence.
And for any overseas readers who have yet to visit our shores, you really need to see Great Britain in the sun because it truly transforms into such a beautiful place. Cricket on lazy town greens. The wildly handsome Pembrokeshire coast, twinkling like mad diamonds. Riverside picnics as canal boats crawl past in idle fashion. The majesty of places like Lake Vyrnwy and the Lake District, still maps in God's mighty heart. Deckchairs on beaches while piers stretch out like bony fingers. Grand castles drenched in ancient history, offering damp shade within their walls to sweltering visitors. Carnivals, fishing fetes, happy Brits in eccentric poses, soaking up a much missed dose of summer.
I was only 5 years old in 1976 when we had that scorcher of a summer here in the UK but I do have specks of memories of it; I particularly recall the bone dry cricket pitch in Burry Port park and the burning pavements of Station Road, one of the main streets in the town. And I also remember the hungry queues in Barrie's Plaice waiting patiently for fish & chips, happily swapping local gossip. It was a wonderful time and this week, seeing photographs online of people taking a dip in the Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park and sun worshippers relaxing on various Welsh beaches has brought those memories back with a beautiful vengeance.
Now dear readers, you must excuse me, I have a date with a choc ice!
