What sort of Londoner slash weatherplagued British person would I be if I didn’t pass some comment on the hottest day ever — even though a week on, we can finally feel a breeze on our face that isn’t like a hairdryer on the hottest setting. The bizarre novelty of it yielded all the lolz. Did we fry eggs on the pavement? Did we sit in a wheely bin filled with cold water and drink cocktails? Did we walk around Croydon in a puffer jacket for the TikTok flex? Why, yes!
Upon reflection though, the strangeness of that mercury rising two-day spell was compounded by the fact I happened to set myself a list of non-negotiable errands. This involved a lot of walking (20,000 steps) when most people opted to sit still in front of a desk fan and a bowl of ice in their houses, with their curtains closed while watching ice bath challenge videos as a cooling respite. There was this strange compulsion to set myself a weird reality show heatwave task and say, ‘Hey SUN! You can’t STOP me!’ (Can we also take a moment to laugh at Sky News opting to have a split-screen video image of the sun as part of its coverage, as if the changes of a hot ball of plasma are at all discernible to the human eye.)
