Melting

Phew! Picture me as a grease spot slowly melting into the ground. We are in the middle of a heatwave here. I claim personal responsibility. I had a baby. Angel was born in March 1995 and we enjoyed(?) a scorchingly hot summer. Little Cherub's arrival appears to have had the same effect on the weather. Wednesday was the hottest July day ever recorded in England, with temperatures in the mid-nineties - beating a record set nearly one hundred years ago. Bear in mind that the UK is not set up for truly hot weather and you will understand why we are melting. Air conditioning is rare other than in commercial premises. Even outdoor swimming pools are few and far between as our more typical weather doesn't make them appealing! Mercifully our car has air conditioning, but at home we have all of two small fans - normally plenty as it is a naturally cool house, but this type of heat is out of their league. We postponed our planned trip to visit friends on Wednesday rather than take the risk of being stuck in an overheated broken down train. (The railways here have a long track record of failing to cope with extreme temperatures in either direction. We had visions of heat-buckled rails.) In any case staying indoors in the relative cool seemed far more sensible! Little Cherub has developed an intimate relationship with one of the fans - it receives lots of smiles! - and I'm glad to report hasn't been too hot and bothered. The heatwave is forecast to continue well into next week but with slightly lower temperatures. Today's high is forecast to be 84 degrees, which seems positively chilly in comparison. Just as well. A few more days like Wednesday and I would have melted completely. Ironically it isn't even the summer holidays here yet. How sorry I feel for all those children who have been stuck in classrooms with no air conditioning.