In The Summertime

In the summertime, when the weather is high

You can stretch right up and touch the sky

Welcome to South Manchester in what is supposed to be summertime – but isn’t really. It’s quite cloudy with a bit of sun but we haven’t really had what I would call a typical summer day in the UK apart from a week or two in June. 

We have been told that climate change will bring wetter summers to the UK and based on the washout that was July and August 2023 I think they are right. 

I live in hope though. I will get a taste of summer in mid-August despite the weather in the UK because we will be off to Nice on the south coast of France for Mrs PM’s birthday. And a week after I retire, we will be going to Greece for a week – so it will be hot there.

The theme of this week’s Sunday Stealing is summer so let’s dive in and imagine the weather is fitting of such a post.

1. What is the hottest temperature you've seen this summer so far? 

The highest temperature in Manchester this year was back in June and I think was about 25 degrees Centigrade. Such temperatures are pleasant without being uncomfortable. The highest temperatures we usually see are about 31 degrees Centigrade but the record was smashed two years ago when it reached 38 degrees Centigrade. Mrs PM and I both had Covid-19 which was good thing but I recall our cats being so hot they didn’t know what to do with themselves. The highest ever temperatures I have experienced were 45 degrees Centigrade in Las Vegas and 46 degrees Centigrade in Muscat, Oman. Those temperatures were unbearable and I feel for people who have to endure them.

2. What is your favourite summer beverage?

I usually drink a lot of water in the summer, sometimes flavoured with fruit juice but definitely accompanied by ice cubes.

When it comes to alcoholic drinks, I usually switch from ale to lager as it is more refreshing and usually a lot colder. 

3. Have you seen any fireflies/lightning bugs yet? Cicadas?

We don’t get lightning bugs or cicadas in the UK. However, I have seen both in the past and certainly heard cicadas. Lightning bugs surprised me and at first I didn’t know what they were. We were in Cleveland, Ohio, having an outdoor meal with the family we were staying with when I saw a group of them hovering around in the darkness. The kids were trying to catch them and that’s the first time I heard the term “lightning bug” – I had known them as fireflies but I had no idea why they were called that. 

4. What are the last 3 things you bought online?

The last three things I bought online were purchased about two hours ago. In October I am going to Budapest for a reunion with my old university pals. We’re going for four nights and the flights don’t really fit in with our planned dates, so I had to buy two separate flights with different companies for the outward and return flight. And of course, I booked a hotel room too. 

5. Where do locals go to cool off?

As I hinted above, we don’t really get very hot days in Manchester but when the temperature reaches about 20 degrees Centigrade and the sun comes out we all just go outside and sit in the sun, whether it be the park, countryside, seaside or simply in a pub garden – or in my case, a cricket match. When it gets too hot, people will just go home or back inside the pub. 

6. Where did you buy your last postcard and what was on the pc?

I haven’t bought a postcard for about 40 years. 

7. What's your favourite summertime scent?

I love the smell of the English countryside. When the weather is sunny and warm, there are few things better than going for a walk in and around a small village in the Lake District, Peak District or Cheshire and the country smells are lovely (if you aren’t too close to a farm of course). However, generally, just walking around, you can smell summer flowers and that is also lovely. 

8. What kind of a/c do you have - central, room, fans only, chillers, none and what temperature do you set it to?

We don’t have it because It doesn’t get hot enough to have air conditioning in the UK. 

9. Do you have a summer vacation planned and if so, where are you really going??

As I said above, we are planning to go to Nice in France for four days in August and  then to Greece in late September for a week. 

10. What are your favourite summer activities? 

We go out for walks in the countryside, I tend to watch a few cricket matches and, if we can, we go abroad for a while. But I am equally happy sitting in the garden with a cold drink. 

11.  What's your favourite summertime food?

I eat more salads in the summer but my eating habits don’t change too much. 

12. Did you ever go to summer school?

No. As a kid we used to live next to a park and back then parents used to just send kids out all day. Those days are long gone. 

13. What's your favourite summertime memory?

As a kid, we had a huge heatwave in the UK back in 1976 that lasted for weeks. It was really hot and sunny all the time and it didn’t rain, leading to a water shortage in the UK as a whole. Despite that, as young teenagers, we spent loads of time having fun outdoors, with water pistols etc, as well as eating loads of ice cream and ice lollies. 

As an adult, I tend to go abroad and the biggest holidays I had that have great memories are a four and a half week trip to the US, two interrail trips to Europe lasting about three weeks each, a visit to Japan and a “Planes, trains and automobiles” trip around China. 

Every holiday is brilliant though. 

14. Do you like fireworks?

I used to like them as a kid. Today I’m quite ambivalent about them. 

15. How do you feel about the longer days of summer?

I love the longer days of summer. It’s great when it is still light at 9:30pm and at 4am. I especially like going for my daily walks at 6:30 am with the sun shining and nobody else around apart from dog walkers and joggers. I feel like I’ve got the whole world to myself. 

Sadly we are in July so the days are getting shorter – but it’s still good for now.