NINETEEN SEVENTY SIX DEGREES

It lasted for a month, the heatwave of 1976, a whole month, and it was great. There wasn't any hysteria just a lot of people making the most of it. It seemed to me at the time that this was an opportunity to get out and about, shirtless, seeking fountains and ponds, listening out for the chimes of the Ice Cream van and hanging around in the park seeking distractions and mischief.

It was almost a national celebration despite the water shortages, and tales of Queen's Guards collapsing. The papers and TV were full of people adapting to the scorching temperatures and the mood was light. Being a kid at the time, for myself and my friends it felt like the summer of our lives. Days were very long, evenings bright and sleep hard to get but well deserved after a day of travelling around the city.

This time around, our two day heatwave is in the context or aversion  to risk and the associated potential problems of having the windows open. Maybe it's an increased awareness of the harmful nature of exposure to the sun and extreme heat. Or perhaps because we have been and are still living in a Covid world. One things for sure is that it cannot be as much fun as that glorious summer of 1976