Memories of ’76 are all around this week and indeed for the coming weeks, with temperatures up in the 30s, just like that long ago summer. Although this heatwave is short, the heat of ’76 lasted for weeks, with water shortages, Saharan dust, great music – it was the year of ‘Under the Moon of Love’, a song I have loved now for 50 years! Close friends are celebrating their Golden Wedding, and another is celebrating their 50th birthday. A golden year indeed. Times have changed though as ‘social’ media allows ideas to spread like a virus, which is sometimes a good thing, sometimes not. There is a clamour for schools to close – why? We went even when the school was closed for the removal of asbestos, we were shared around other schools, and huddled around oil heaters during the cold, the heatwave, just carried on as normal. Schools close for snow days which is great – my children had a wonderful time on such a day. But for heat…there is no rule for heat. And yet, 1990 was also a hot summer. I remember headlines about frying eggs on heads!
With starting school so early, and staying on so late, is this why we’re all in a state?
Picking blackcurrants (I picked a pound this morning) always takes me back to the heady summer days of my youth before the days of pick your own but when farmers paid us youngsters to pick them. It was hard work for a few pennies but fun and rewarding. The blackcurrants were large and plump which I have since learned was a big variety rather than me being much smaller.
The annual astronomy fair at my local Observatory was fun and interesting and useful. The recently retired President of the Royal Astronomical Society was one of the speakers and to whom I had written about the issues there. He was kind and most helpful and encouraging. Another professor, from the University of Exeter gamely posed with MaldwyntheMouse, my Instagram partner, much to my daughter’s dismay as she will be visiting him and his team shortly 😊
Today has become steadily cooler and fresher thankfully. I can feel myself coming back to life. All I was capable of was sitting in front of the TV and melting. Hoping for a great result on the scales from all that melting.
Karen Hedges 