I must admit that I have always secretly admired the British approach to Summer, stripping off at the very idea of the sun. Like cats stealing any sunny spot, turning up to work on a Monday morning Lobster pink and happy with sun filled weekend news regardless of age, wage or stature.
One can still however be silenced by sightings of the vested, beer bellied blokes who come out with the sun and walk around the streets, sometimes without a hanky knotted over their heads. The supermarkets from Asda through M&S to Waitrose are stripped bare from the BBQ rampage of the sausage, burger, chicken piece, charcoal, salad and cold drink hunter-gatherers. The motorways are gridlocked with the exodus to the often heaving beaches, this is one of the long established unifying British Summertime pursuits. Love it or loath it, we bemoan it but it’s a given, part of the fabric of life and anyway it’s most probably handy to have a practice dry run in April & May ahead of the inevitable Summer mayhem.
For the past 3 years around April time we get a week or a weekend that is often better than Summer. My childhood mantra “Don’t shed a cloud til May is out” has meant that I’ve resisted the temptation, however this year I decided to do join the masses in this typically British pursuit and strip off. Any sunny day in the UK is a time to face the rays and get some vitamin d, so armed with a towel and bikini I basked like a pro on the sun-lounger in my yard.
My Celtic complexion means that I tend to slap on the factor 30–50 all year round and although I did have a slightly pink spot on the back of my neck after the early summer weekend, there was no sign of a Lobster scalp. Post the April weekend mini-heatwave the temperature dropped down for a few weeks by at least 10 degrees. Smiles faded, boots and cardies were put back on and the odd sniffle could be heard as well as a scowl seen on many a Londoner. The temperature however is now back up there at 26 degrees this week “Hurrah”, the smiles are back on the lobster faces and all is right with the world again. Hip hip hurray for vitamin D…..
Originally published at freeyourflourish.com on April 10, 2017.
Originally published at medium.com