As a Leo, a Sun Sign and a summer baby, I always felt sad when the sun was low, the summer coming to an end and the beautiful Autumn light and colours took over. Along with the end of long Summer days, I felt greatly affected. I still feel like this even though the seasons of good weather here are long and it honestly doesn't matter if you don't have a BBQ at a weekend since the sunny weekends go on and on and on.
However, since experiencing more and more heat, much higher temperatures and the sheer effort of staying cool for long periods of time, I am always quick to tell folk that it's not the heat that I'm wanting, although warmth is ok and offers great comfort to 'older bones' and allows us to drop our shoulders, unwind and relax.
No. It's the light. Over 300 days of sunlight can make a world of difference to how people feel, live their lives, how they react to each other. We are mostly like flowers - like Sunflowers who turn their faces to the light each day in this part of France. We mostly thrive on waking to a day with sunlight. ( A day of extreme heat and possibly humidity too is a different feeling altogether.) It's not hard to smile and feel positive when there's sunshine and a blue sky above you.
Blistering days may work for lots of people on holiday. They have saved hard for their time in the sun and are determined to enjoy it. It works less for those who work, who have homes to run, families to care for, shopping to do. I can see that being able to dry lines of washing outside can be a rare treat for many in these conditions although I am now in a position where even turning my laundry inside out, I risk fading and ruining clothes which can almost dry to a crisp on the line as I peg things out. Standing in front of the oven door temperature, I am always grateful to come back into the house again.
With no respite from the heat - early mornings or night times - those of us no longer 21 take a huge impact from being overheated and uncomfortable. Remembering to drink enough, to add salt, to watch out for swollen limbs, to get enough sleep can become an inconvenience.
I can see that lots of people will likely be thinking of installing a 'cool space' at home - especially after this year. Just one room which is air conditioned and cool enough to enable a comfortable siesta or good night's sleep, can be such a blessing. Even those across Europe who are used to temperatures way above those normally in Northern Europe need a Plan B once the heat takes over. They stay inside. At present there is only silence outside - except for the very loud Cigales (Cicadas) who are so loud in these temperatures. People walk only slowly and lurk in supermarkets and big stores where the air conditioning makes such a difference and this was my experience maybe 35 years ago. Stores were forced to stay open all night, just for emergency sleeping for locals. In Greece, there was often a nightly pilgrimage for entire families to the beaches and away from overheated buildings. After the scary temperatures of 2003 when we lived in Normandie, for days there was nothing to do except sit in front of fans in 43 degrees,, until we had a bedroom fitted with an air conditioning unit. Our lives were transformed because the whole family had a place to go when things got too much. You need to sleep or life definitely takes a turn for the worse!
As long as we have food and drink and somewhere comfortable to be, shopping can be delivered, dogs really don't need walking, outdoor activities can be postponed and anything really strenuous can be postponed indefinitely.
So maybe the best plan is to embrace the idea of a holiday - at home. Ignore all the things which take energy and effort and can wind us all up to feeling exhausted or uncomfortable. Just do what we want, stay cool and concentrate on tasks which are truly enjoyable and support the Lazy Gran theory! Slow (very slow) and steady probably wins the race in this kind of weather and, above all, we want to stay fit and well.
Take extra care everyone.... and I shall wait with great interest for the first posted rainy weather complaints !
