I think it’s sweltering in the UK, and I’m Australian…
You’re right Brits, it’s actually hot over here.
Last week I reached a milestone; I’ve been living in England for an entire year. Now as product of a small country town in New South Wales, I’m not entirely used to the big city. A few stints in Canberra and Brisbane in early adulthood didn’t exactly prepare me for city living — nor did they prepare me for the weather.
Now I knew things would be different in England…
Housing
I’d visited before, so I knew we were moving to a much smaller house. Now I wouldn’t say it’s small; some of the places I’ve visited are small. But compared to where I’ve lived in the past, it’s short a couple of bedrooms, an entire living area, half a kitchen and at least 200 square metres of lawn. Now I’m not complaining, I think we make it work very well and we live in a lovely house… but feeling like the neighbours live on top of you and… well, that’s a story for another day.
Food
I have a list of food intolerances as long as my arm — truthfully, it’d make a spectacular sleeve tattoo if I wanted to remind myself of everything I can’t eat — so I expected a difficult road to the grocery store. The first few months were tough, but I made it work and found a few hidden gems (like tasty bread) along the way.
Weather
I knew I’d be cold in England… actually, I expected I’d be freezing in England. But I’m not sure freezing even begins to describe how I felt through the 9 months of winter. This concept of Winter being a three month block by the way… well, someone tell Mother Nature she missed the memo, because I was cold to the bone for a good 9 months. I imagine it feels something like when an ice block is put in the freezer.
First it starts with some chills on the outside, our goose bumps. But as you sit still, the icicles slowly creep towards your inner core, so slowly you don’t even notice, until suddenly you feel like the ice block that’s frozen solid. This happened to me, day after day, sitting in front of my laptop… despite wearing 3 layers and firing up the heating.
Work
The beauty of working from home is you don’t have to leave the house… the problem with working from home is you don’t have to leave the house. I begrudgingly layered up, weekend after weekend, forcing myself out of the house to see some of the country. I even went out when it snowed; it’s exciting the first time it ever snows at your house. But I hated almost every minute of the darkness and drizzle.
So, after months, and months, and months of feeling like an icicle, I was ecstatic to see the weather bureau predicting blue skies, summer sun and temperatures in the mid 20’s…
But I didn’t expect to be sitting here in late June, sweating like I’m at hot box yoga.
It’s my birthday on Wednesday. I’m quite excited as the weather man has promised this will be my first real summer birthday. I had high hopes last year, but alas, England delivered it’s usual — drizzling rain and plummeting temperatures… ok maybe they didn’t plummet, but I was cold enough to wear a jumper and I do that every year in Australia, so I’m chalking it up as a fail.
Yesterday, I thought I’d hit the summer sun Jackpot. Finally, a summer birthday!!!
But today I woke at 7.30am and stumbled down stairs for my first injection of coffee… it’s a gorgeous morning of blue skies, birds chirping and rays of sunlight beaming through the window. Beaming like somebody turned the oven up to gas mark 7 so we can get our roast cooking.
I never expected to feel this hot in England.
I backpacked around Europe in August and September of 2014, so I knew it Summer was warm over here. But I’ve always been an Australian who laughs when the UK labels 25+ degrees a heat wave. Having now experienced it, I get it.
Like I said, I’ve felt cold to the bone for 9 months. I’d been rugged up so long, my arms were as white as my stomach that almost never sees the sun. I honestly cannot remember that ever happening in my life. But with skin so white, it’s terribly easy to burn even after just a few minutes in direct sunlight.
It’s also a shock to the system. While 25 degrees may sound quite mild, it’s a big jump from the 5–10 degree temperatures we had just two weeks ago.
Finally, and this is the biggest issue, houses in the UK are designed to keep heat in… which is lovely for the 9 month winter. But when you’re trying to escape the sun that’s frying your skin like bacon under the grill, you crave some cooler respite. So, you walk inside and there’s often a slight temperature drop, but not enough to make a difference. It’s like standing under a shady tree in Australia when it’s 40 degrees… sure you’re in the shade, but the air is still 40 degrees.
I’m going to leave you to imagine that… I’m off to the freezer to grab an ice block, then I’m going to stand in front of the fan.
P.S. Another summer issue — there’s a fly flying around my office, driving me up the wall… it’s hard to concentrate, so I apologise if my ramble is a little too rambly today.
