Yes that's HEAT as in the Hethersett Environmental Action Team (I kid you not). This wonderful group of people have been doing sterling work in our village for a number of years, organising monthly litter picks, planting and generally looking after the ecology for the village. So a big thank you to them all.
Now let's talk about the other kind of Heat. How did you all get on yesterday and how will you be staying cool today?
I have found the advice going round very helpful. It's a rare occurrence when doctors tell you not to take any exercise. So I'm having a two day break from my marathon walk and was reflecting that the only things to date that have kept me from walking have been three days of adverse weather conditions - one for a huge storm and two for the current hot spell.
Usually I would ignore the temperatures and carry on as normal and then wonder why I ended up as a dripping mess. But not this time. Yesterday I went in the car everywhere which saddens me because I make a point of walking anywhere local or taking the bus. But it had to be car because of the air conditioning. Today I will have to drive to the dentist for my appointment rather than walk.
I have found that opening all the windows early morning and then shutting them and all the curtains when it starts to get hot has worked in keeping the house at a vaguely reasonable temperature and then I employ a rather large fan (yes I have a really large fan). Thankfully it's only going to last today and then temperatures should drop again.
I can't believe we would ever get into a situation where we would look at the weather chart and say "thank goodness it's only going to be 28 degrees tomorrow."
This heat has had the same affect as extreme cold weather with groups and organisations calling off meetings. Last night's parish council meeting was postponed and we have called off this morning's forget-me-not cafe. It's so hot we really don't think people would turn out anyway and the risk is just not worth it.
My dental surgery did ring me yesterday to remind me of today's appointment. I asked how they were coping with the heat and were told their surgery was very cool thanks to the air conditioning. I asked them if I could sleep there!!! For some reason they said no.
I have to admit that I have watched the Conservative leadership debates with a kind of morbid fascination. The candidates seem to be getting carried away with all this "I have done the following" malarkey. The problem is they were asked why people should vote for them and responded with "people should vote for me because." But of course as many have pointed out we cannot vote for them. Neither does it look as if we will be able to any time soon as all the candidates have said they won't call a general election (I can't help wondering why that is - although I reckon I know the answer). Meanwhile I reckon our current PM (remember him?) has something up his sleeve and I don't mean his arms. He could still cause quite a few problems before he takes his shocking red wallpaper and takes off to wherever he's taking off to.