Another bright and sunny day today. I went out running early before it gets too hot. Some people tell me not to run in the hot weather but it feels a little like when we go to Sanxenxo, Galicia, for the chess congress in July and I run down the promenade before breakfast. Early morning is fine. Running in the heat later in the day is foolish. Out and about I came across a few dog-walkers doing the same sort of thing - walking their dogs before the pavements get too hot for the dogs feet. Our Number One Granddaughter employs someone to walk her dog while she works. She was in a bit of a tizzy on Wednesday because the dog-walker planned to arrive just after 9.00am, again to avoid walking the dog in the heat of the day. Granddaughter Number One was concerned she herself might not be organised for the arrival of the dog-walker. Modern day problems!
When I was a child it was a common thing for dogs to be let out to roam the streets while their owners were at work. Nobody seemed worried about the dogs running around on hot streets or needing bowls of water left out for them. Not even on days when the tarmac melted under your feet. And yes, we did have days like that. Presumably the dogs were expected to find shady places and just flop until their owners returned home. They must have been pretty intelligent dogs too as they all knew when to return home to be fed.
Drought has been declared in some parts of the country and we’re all being warned to keep out of the sun. This amuses me as so many people go on holiday to sunny places precisely so they can toast themselves to a crisp brown! It’s not just us of course. I have known a fair number of Spaniards who are prepared to spend hours stretched out in the hot sun to achieve the perfect tan. I read that it’s all Coco Chanel’s fault. She went on holiday in the south of France, returned to Paris tanned and made a fashion feature of it. Before that it was fashionable to be pale and interesting. Only those obliged to work outdoors had a tan. It was all class-based, of course!
Here in the northwest of England what happens is we all go slightly crazy washing everything possible so that we can hang it out to dry in the garden and express our delight at how quickly everything dries. Small pleasures!
On the TV news last night they showed aerial photos of Great Britain, one from a number of years ago with the whole island pretty much green all over, and one from the present day with a huge amount of the south and east very brown. We are fortunate enough to live in a bit that still looks green. The parts of northern France which could be seen on the photos had suffered the same change. Brittany, where we have sometimes had rather wet camping holidays, had suffered the same fate. Today I have read a couple of articles about water problems. One looked at how farmers are coping with drought conditions and using a variety of methods to retain water.
(Incidentally, on the news last night they interviewed British wine producers. They are really happy with the sunshine as their grapes are thriving and growing very sweet. Presumably they irrigate. Will they be affected by water restrictions though? I wonder.)
The other article was all about wetlands and the damage we have done to the country by draining marshes and peat-bogs and other sorts of wetlands. Everything is more susceptible to wildfire if it has been dried out by excessive draining.
Basically, it’s another example of how we have messed things up in the interest of modernity. Farmers who have planted trees and hedgerows in recent years for reasons of increased diversity now have shade for their animals in the hot weather. Those who have returned to organic methods, including rotating the use of their fields, allowing animals to roam on them, at times decided by the farmers of course, have healthier soil which retains water better. We need to find a way to return to a simpler way of dealing with our problems.
We need that and we need a fairer society.
I seem to be getting all idealistic all of a sudden. The heat must be getting to me.
Here’s a little something that made me smile. Some called John Stevens posted this about the Conservative shenanigans in Cheltenham yesterday:
Liz Truss is in Gloucestershire
She says: “We need to get on with delivering the small modular nuclear reactors which we produce HERE IN DERBYSHIRE”
I have read that she is a whizz at maths but if that post is correct than her grasp of geography is a bit wonky! It does not bode well!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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