OK, before I start this entry I know all you Texans will be laughing but trust me, it's hot. It got up to 85F today. Now, I know that's actually quite pleasant by Texas standards but over here it's a whole different ballgame. First off, there's very little AC. Not just in homes but in cars, shops and restaurants too. Definitely no AC on public transportation. Every summer there's at least one news story about how people travelling on the underground are in conditions that wouldn't be legal for shipping livestock. Seriously.
Today I took the kids into town for the day. We've been to the cinema three times already because it's reasonably cool there so I thought it was time to do something else. We picnicked in a bit of shade on the steps in Trafalgar Square, put our feet in the fountains and walked around the galleries in the National Gallery before having ice cream in the cafe. By the time we got back on the train home we were in the beginning of commuter time. Crap.
Imagine being wedged into a packed, standing room only train with a bunch of sweaty people. BO doesn't even begin to describe it. Of course the kids were tired, hot and cranky too. I kind of hoped that Tobes would throw up so people would clear a space around us but no such luck.
Of course I'm sure you're asking why they don't just install AC. Well, it's very expensive and really bad for the environment. It's only like this for about two weeks a year so it's not cost effective and if we start using it on really hot days we'd probably start using it on slightly warm days too and then it becomes a whole AC culture and the hole in the ozone gets bigger and bigger and we all start to fry like bacon. So, no AC.
I've learned to cope this summer by eating a lot of ice lollies and repeating my new mantra over and over... "Remain calm and keep going". Nothing like some good old British stoicism to get you through. Though to be honest I'd rather be lying under an air conditioning vent drinking a Big Gulp Slurpee. Damn you global warming.
A lot of talk about children, husbands, homes, food, travels and everything else that makes up domestic bliss.
4 comments:
MMMMMMMM 85 would seem like a cold front to us!
I think everything I like or am addicted to is bad for something or other. Burning leaves, driving an SUV, using aeresol cans, using A/C's just to name a few....We are bad to the bone! It is the "Green People" who are saving us from ourselves. Thanks for being "Green". The rest of us are set in our ways... or like me, Just Plain Spoiled!
Man what I wouldn't give for a Big ole Slurpee at this moment! Coke and Cherry mixed up with my favourite instrument second only to the spork.. the spoonstraw!
:)
It is hotter than f&*%in hell here in Tejas! 102 today and 103 tomorrow. Humidity at 50% at night and much higher during the day. Sweaty crotch, butt crack, under boob sweat and pits. So lovely, oh so lovely! Cam started football and it is Nuckin Futs!!! Love you and love your blog..I lost my mind when I read about Tobes and the nut kickin!! It's a natural progression though. Wait until you have the "TALK" with him. We did that in May of this year with Cam and at the end of it all, he asked for a recap!! Can you believe it???
BTW, that nice comment above was from Ang in Austin :)
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