Summer Fail…

There spring started with meteorological promise and we had a lovely March with bright skies and warm spring days. The spring flowers bloomed early and the birds and bees busied themselves as the sap started to rise. As the sun continued for an unprecedented duration (more than three days in succession) we were told we had entered a period of drought, but as soon as the water companies imposed a hose-pipe water ban it started to rain… …and rain, and still it rains.

I am not a sun worshipper and do not like it too hot (when it is cold you can always put on more clothes, if it is too hot there is a limit to how much you can take off before it becomes obscene), nevertheless, the only chance I have of getting any colour on my pallid skin currently seems to be due to rust.

I was looking forward to some drought, to scorching days and balmy evenings spent out doors with the sun on your back and a glass of something cold in your hand, to conserving water by sharing a bath with a friend, to not having to wash the car (although admittedly I usually leave this job to those nice Polish people at the supermarket car park anyway), but now the weather forecasters have told us that we should not consider this June to be summer. Soon we will have passed the longest day, so when will we have our summer I wonder?

My folks are over for a couple of months, spend time with us and with other family and friends in the UK and touring France and Spain. We noted with some chagrin that the weather back in New Zealand (their winter) was recently warmer and drier than here. How is that possible?