The sun has got his hat on, hip hip hip hooray!

The sun is shining as I write this (although probably not by the time you read it!)

For me, the world always looks better when the sun shines, which is more than can be said for the human population. Lobster pink tans, cropped tops two sizes too small and mini skirts which are really just wide belts worn by girls with thighs the size of tree trunks are just some of the delights which await us on sunny days in the city. Either that or the ridiculously named ‘city shorts’ which just look like a pair of suit trousers that have been cut off just below the crutch by a reject from fashion school.

I love the sun! The two things I hate most in the world (outside of baseball caps, crap reality TV, offal and rats) are being cold and being wet. So when the sun shines, I am in my element.

The other week we had a few days of the temperature in the high twenties. That’s relatively mild by some European standards, but quite warm for the UK.

“Oh, isn’t it hot? Too much for me!”

“I hate this heat. So muggy!”

“Phew! What a scorcher!” (‘The Sun’ – predictably)

“Well, this is like being in Africa.”

Just a few of the fatuous and stupid remarks I heard! What’s wrong with the British? We spend all of our time moaning about how chilly it is (‘chilly’ being about minus ten) and how much it rains, and at the first gleam of a sunbeam everyone is moaning it’s too hot!

Brits are, of course, famous for their obsession with the weather and for their world renowned wet and temperate climate. The rest of Europe sees it as something of a laughing matter, but most Brits take the weather extremely seriously and we are all guilty of poring over the forecast before a day out and agonising about what to wear (me included). And that’s because it’s so bloody unreliable and changeable.

This morning, for example, when I left the house for work it was misty, damp and rather nippy (I had goose pimples and my car thermometer said twelve degrees!). By the time I got up to London an hour later, the sun was out and it was 20 degrees. In between, we had grey skies which looked like they were about to dump Noah’s flood on us, but actually never did. You just don’t know what to expect or what to wear. So, we are obsessed.

I know global warming is supposedly well on its way and means wetter and warmer weather, and it seems reckless to say I don’t care. I know some crops and populations will suffer, but there will be advantageous changes too. And I like the sun! I would be happy if it shone every day of the year and it was summer for the whole twelve months. Some respite from the searing heat of a forty degree August would be nice, but nothing lower than fifteen degrees even in February, please.

Even when you feel low, the sun makes you smile. It is a natural human instinct to turn your face to the light and warmth, and we should relish it and learn to manage our changing world rather than complain about it. And we should harness the energy and feelgood factor the sun brings, because overall, it makes the world a better place.