The sun is out! Like, properly, seriously, legitimately out! And it’s amazing. London had such a long, long, terrible winter (snow in April… hello?!) that we are all now rejoicing and basking in the sun – quite literally! At dinner the other night, my friend Sophie exclaimed to me, “It’s such a lovely temperature now, I don’t even need a cardigan!” She was right. All day, whenever someone would say to me, “It’s sooo hot, oh my God!”, my set response was “Yes, but I’m not complaining! We’ve wanted it for so long..!” Such a cliche, I groaned inwardly every time I uttered the phrase.
I suppose it’s that old adage – what would British people talk about if it weren’t for the weather and unreliable public transport? It’s a fair point. I find so many social and work-related situations call for such small talk. It’s just a shame that we have to converse in complaints. I do – in fact – feel a touch too positive by exclaiming, “I refuse to complain about it!” or when trying to say “Oh well, never mind,” to banish negativity from a situation. It’s a part of the culture, I guess.
Anyway, this weekend, the sun did INDEED come out and I was determined to enjoy it. I went for a run on Saturday morning (yay for fixed leg post-3peaks!) before heading home to shower and go and meet my friend in Green park for a sunbathe and a natter. I then made my way from the park to Kew Gardens, where Kew the Music was taking place, to meet my friend Sophie. We snagged tickets on Groupon to Leona Lewis live with fireworks and jumped at the chance to have an outdoor evening picnic with live music. It turned out to be a very civilised affair; no drunken raucousness, no queue for the loos and a very pleasant evening sipping wine and nibbling on cheese and fruit.
Sunday was much of the same. I went for a fabulous brunch in the sun in West Hampstead with my boyfriend before heading home to deal with a couple of chores. Then it was back to Green Park to meet Sophie again and her colleague for whome I was doing a simple Facebook Page advice/consultation session. There was coffee and cake involved, so it wasn’t too strenuous for a Sunday afternoon’s work. We then decided ti head down to London Bridge to check out the Bastille Festival around Borough Market, but we didn’t spot much interesting upon arrival and so headed to a new bar called Upper Deck SE1, sitting alongside the HMS Belfast on the Thames. We enjoyed a Pimm’s and some pistachios with a full view of Tower Bridge before heading to dinner nearby at Dim T, with more stunning views of London.
All in all, it was a fab weekend, exacerbated further by the glorious British summer which we are hopeful will stay for at least another few weeks, so that we can pretend that we don’t live in a freezing, rainy city for the rest of the year. But, at least it’ll give us something to talk about if the trains are on time.
