Day 1 of the Great Heat.
Well last night was altogether very pleasant – nothing uncomfortable about it. But as for the day…
I had to get H out quite early, to leave me with enough time for the nagging to begin. Nagging T to get up for daycare.
It was another beautiful morning – around 18C – as we set off around Castle Meadows, and wandered along the shady towpath by the river.
I was home by just after 07.00, but, by the time I had dished up brekkie, it was straight into nagging time – 90 minutes after I started trying to get T up, he still was not ready.
I left him at home, whilst I picked up Lena, gathering him up as we headed back past Underhill for Wallingford. She kindly presented him with a birthday present.
I delivered the two of them to their respective destinations. And dashed to TKMaxx in Didcot. That was to organise a new cabin bag for T. His current one is wonderful, but does not quite meet Easyjet size criteria and we usually have to borrow one for him.
After some hunting around, I found one that should do nicely.
Everywhere was hot, colour has drained from the landscapes, apart from the trees who stand out starkly dark green against the bleached fields. But a lot of leaves are already falling.
I parked up to meet Lena in the Waitrose car park, as usual. It was not the most sensible place to be, and I knew she needed to do some shopping, so I entered the shop to escape the Great Heat. The air-conditioned interior provided wonderful respite from the Great Heat. Parked outside, the car thermometer registered 38C.
Waitrose did not have much to tempt me because a lot of the shelves were bare. I thought it was Ocado who usually suffered fires at warehouses, but Waitrose are now similarly afflicted.
I picked up a few bits and pieces and returned to the car, waited for Lena, and drove her home.
The afternoon became unbearably hot. H, who normally loves to lie outside, stayed out for about one minute. I drew the curtains and closed the windows to keep the oven outside.
Eventually, (well after about 40 minutes, which was all the time I had) I collected T from daycare, and he promptly opened windows, curtains and doors so the oven could heat the inside of the house as well as the outside. No point in dissuading hm because he is always right. He even switched my electric blanket on as he retired to relax on the bed at 15.30.
I may have forgotten to say, that yesterday evening, he shifted my plant pots around into a group again. I haven’t the energy to reorganise them. Yet.
I enjoyed a short snooze, awaking sticky and uncomfortable. A cold shower felt like a good idea.
The whole country seems unable to deal with the Great Heat. Trains are either not running or are on go slow. Airport runways are melting, which is adding to air travel chaos. Beaches are completely packed, people rubbing shoulders with goodness knows who. Some schools are closed. Others are taking special measures to keep pupils cool. As are care homes and day centres heeding the needs of their residents. T’s day centre was almost in the dark today.
The last week of term is on us. I expect rain will set in soon.
The evening dragged on in a stickiness. That cold shower suddenly seemed very attractive, so I took one before going to bed.
We are warned not to exercise, and not to exercise our pets either. when I collected T from day care, there were no pets out and about. This made me very happy.
Tomorrow will be hotter.
Update – Tuesday morning. Yes- the night was warm for the UK, but once cold-showered, it was not difficult or uncomfortable to sleep.
Thought for the Day
I hosed H yesterday with a light mist . She didn’t run away as she normally would. But she did not hang around too long either.
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