Saturday 23 June 2012

23/06/12 | (Un)happy Solstice



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Sometimes I think we suffer from a mass delusion in the UK that our summers are long, dry and hot. We all seem to have memories of endless sunny days, sunset barbeques on the beach, the odd day surfing in just a wetsuit top and boardshorts. Deep down we know we've just blotted out those memories of wearing winter coats in August and endless onshores, but still we approach each new summer with a curious blind optimism that THIS summer it's going to be like those golden summers of memory.

This summer is no different. The solstice has been and gone, bringing with it no more than extended daylight hours in which to watch the drizzly onshore seas and sigh with disappointment. Surely not all summers are like this? My optimism is wearing thin. The short leg wetsuit that usually doesn't get a chance to dry out between June and October is still in its bucket unworn. That small bag of charcoal we bought during an early patch of sunshine in March is still under the sink. Those bottles of waterproof sunscreen I bought back from Hawaii last year are still at the back of the bathroom cabinet. Sure there have been a few sunny days, the odd short-lived swell, but the more it rains and the south-westerly winds blow the more I find myself thinking - maybe next week...

3 comments:

  1. Boo.

    We suffer from the opposite here in Queensland, where we seem to think it actually gets cold during winter. Nope. It doesn't.

    Okay, that's not helping, is it.

    But you know what would... a trip to Australia during YOUR summer and our winter so you will clear clear days of sunshine. Our summers are filled with thunderstorms and torrential rain, so maybe you should just swap hemispheres.

    The key take home point here seems to be: summer is shit.

    Hope the sun comes out for you!

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  2. And there was me thinking I should do a trip to Aus during our winter...good to know!
    We suffer from winter delusions here too, there's always a frenzy in the press in the run up to Christmas about it snowing on Christmas Day (but it never actually does). I'd love for our seasons to be more distinct, rather than varying temperatures of rain.

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