EDITOR’S LETTER

Here comes the sun doo-doo-doo-doo… Yes, the world may be crumbling around our feet — government imploding, economy freefalling and, perhaps most worrying, Love Island ending in two weeks — but at least the sun is shining.

I appreciate how crass that might sound, but I’m sort of serious. You have to admit something magical happens to London in a mini heatwave. Overnight, smiling replaces the usual thousandyard-stare of passers-by and the primordial flow of our streets eases as crowds coagulate outside pubs and in parks. I mean, have you seen Hyde Park by 11am on any given weekday? It’s like an all-day sit-in for semi-naked office workers.

Without being a Debbie Downer, things are going to get tough this winter for most of us — exorbitant fuel and food bills, more strikes on the way, no doubt — so let’s enjoy this hot spell while we can. Press play on Beabadoobee’s ‘Sunny Day’ from her new album, Beatopia, turn it up loud and put a spring in your step. Just look at her on our dazzling cover this week; cute as a daisy and refreshingly outspoken, she’s an absolute ray of light. Next, throw caution to the wind (a fresh breeze would be nice, right?), give the sticky netherworld of the Central line a miss and hop on one of the countless for-hire bikes. But, as you’ll find out on p21, make sure to pick the right option for your personality type. And whether you’re having your summer holiday in a pub garden here or on top of an empty airport carousel, don’t worry, we have your must-read list taken care of on p16.

I don’t know, maybe it’s the rosé talking, maybe I’ve had too much sun, but we should all make hay — and new friends and new experiences — while the sun shines. And when the storm clouds come, as they surely will, perhaps we can try singing in the rain for a change? That reminds me: we also have a My London with Malcolm McDowell. (If you don’t get that inelegant but heartfelt sequitur, then please watch A Clockwork Orange immediately).