Late summer in England

I spent the last two weeks of August in the UK, and it was cold. I packed for this trip in the middle of the day, when it was 35 degrees and sunny, and I really couldn't imagine feeling cool, let alone very cold indeed.

So it was a bit of a shock to arrive in England and find that it really wasn't warm enough to be wearing just skirts, T-shirts and sandals. In particular, it wasn't warm enough to be wearing such flimsy attire when I went camping with friends for the August bank holiday weekend. One night in my tent I slept in and under the following: trousers, socks, vest top, t-shirt, hoodie (hood up), silk sleeping bag liner (stretched over cold nose), sleeping bag, fleece blanket (doubled), anorak, bath towel and – getting desperate now – slightly damp hand towel over feet. I was still cold.

Nevertheless, the rain managed to hold itself back for most of the weekend, the hailstones that hit Suffolk didn't hit us and we even managed to pack up the tents when it was dry, which made life much easier. And we had a lovely time.

I spent some of the fortnight relishing a few of the things that are good about England: smoked bacon, soft (albeit slightly damp) grass, multiculturalism (yes, even after the riots), deciduous trees, fish and chips and mushy peas, bitter, the first conkers, overpriced East End trinket shops...

I also stepped out of a few eco-habits. When it's tipping it down outside, there's really not much point in saving the few drops of water that you've rinsed out the teapot with to put on the tomatoes. And when it's chilly in the morning it's a real wrench to turn off the lovely warm shower while you wash and shiver.

While it's turning to autumn in England, it's still summer in Spain - hurray! It's great to be back!