Enjoy ‘the old woman’s summer’ while you can
After the hottest summer on record, followed by high winds and rain, parts of Britain enjoyed a final unseasonable flourish this week, as temperatures nudged into the low-20s for one (presumably) last time.
The late-season encore was welcome. Warmth at the tail-end of September is an age-old treat. Many meteorological phenomenons are negative; “Indian Summer” only ever seems to be used positively.
It seems other cultures agree. Nobody is entirely sure where the phrase came from, but Indian Summer has been thrown around the English language for centuries. We could be forgiven for thinking it has something to do with the Raj, but the earliest reference is in fact from 18th-century North America, when newcomers to those shores may have noted the mild hunting conditions in states inhabited by native people. As a result, it isn’t always deemed politically correct in modern-day USA – Native American Summer isn’t quite as catchy.
Speaking of political incorrectness, the Bulgarians call it a Gypsy Summer, since the unseasonably good weather historically allowed poor people to collect any extra crops to survive the winter. It isn’t set to hang around much longer here. Forecasters this week were predicting that October will open with frosts, plummeting temperatures and widespread arguments about whether it is appropriate to touch the thermostat.
Enjoy it while you can, was the message.
And that brings us to the Germans. Altweibersommer, they call it, translating to “the old woman’s summer”.
Why? Well, one theory is that it’s all to do with mature ladies experiencing a second youth: have fun, but don’t expect it to last.