It's a scorcher!

I'm writing this whilst slowly melting into my bedsheets (which need changing, but I'm far too hot and bothered to actually do it). Yes, folks, the sunny weather has finally arrived! Of course, it's predicted to get colder and wetter as the new week begins because... Well, because I'm writing this in Britain. We don't really do prolonged good weather, after all!

Everywhere I've been lately, however, I've seen people making the most of the heat and the sunshine whilst we've got it. And it has been something of a revelation. Something happens to us when the sun comes out - we change somehow and after much reflection, I've decided it's for the better.

Yes, there will always be lads going around without their tops on, regardless of their general physique. Yes, I will always - and I mean always - run screaming from wasps, no matter how many times I'm told to "stand still and it'll ignore you." And yes, we might get tired and teasy in the heat, as we stand around like lobsters, poking at a barbecue sausage (not a euphemism, honest guv). But the positives seem to far outweigh the negatives.

The children at the school I work at have rejoiced in running around on the playing field, without the needs for coats or jumpers, with traces of sticky sun lotion on their cheerful faces. The beaches have been full of families, laughing together and making the most of a bit of time off work. Everywhere you go, there are little signs that Summer is on its way: The scent of a barbecue wafting through the air; the sound of an ice cream van trundling down the road playing a merry tune... And suddenly, people are smiling more. People are laughing more. People are thinking: "Lets ignore the housework for a day and go out and enjoy ourselves instead." Strangers are passing comments about the weather, rather than passing each other silently in the street. That has to be something to smile about, surely? I mean, I can be a surly so and so, but even I'm happy to smile and say: "Can't believe this sunshine, can you?!" When I'm queuing at the post office (for ten million years, but that's another subject).

Apparently we're set for a return to rain and cooler temperatures next weekend (which, on a selfish note, pleases me because I'm liable to be making a long drive and didn't fancy boiling to death when I inevitably reach a traffic jam), but I'm hoping we see a return to the sunshine and the warmth, soon. Because it seems that when the weather is sunny and warm, so are the people I meet. And that's actually rather nice.

Summer 2010? Bring it on.