Here comes the sun . . .
BUT NOT EVERYONE IS PLEASED TO SEE IT
IT’S nearly June! One minute we were bundled up against the unpredictable early spring weather and, next minute, the sun teased us with the hint of a possibility of a promise of more to come. I might raise some hackles by declaring the only trouble with the traditional British summer is that, traditionally, the British don’t know how to cope with it.
Incidentally, it’s not easy raising hackles. They require feeding three times a day and a big field to run around in.
Tell me this isn’t true about us Brits. After only a couple of hot summer nights which make it uncomfortable to sleep unless we have air conditioning or keep a fan running at the end of the bed all night – and who can afford to do that these days? – people, perhaps within your own household, complain: “I don’t mind hot weather but this is ridiculous” or “I wish we could have a couple of cool nights!” or even worse: “I can’t wait for the autumn!”
And don’t get me started on what many Brits consider suitable warm weather fashions to wear around town.
Men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes squeeze themselves into shorts, vests or halter-tops. It’s not a good look. So, I don’t. Look, that is!
Just last week, while I was shopping, an old man walked towards me in baggy shorts that had two long pieces of white cotton attached. It was only when he got closer I realised they were his pale, bony legs.
I recently watched a documentary about Blackpool in its 1950s heyday, well before cheap package holidays to Spain became the norm.
In one scene, the beach was so full you couldn’t see the sand.
It was choc-a-bloc with thousands of families and couples who were there for the week.
But, even though they were there to unwind after another year’s hard work in the factories and mills, all the men wore suits, ties and formal shoes!
Okay, it looked quaintly old-fashioned, but what would you prefer to see men wearing around town in hot weather? Baggy shorts or smart suits?
Answers on a postcard to me c/o Sandals Resort, Barbados.