Global Warming?

We’ve been in the UK for about six days now. It doesn’t feel like six days, but the calendar doesn’t lie. We’ve tried to take it easy and get used to our surroundings, which has been crucial, given that Australia has been through a record-breaking heatwave and conversely, the UK has been through a record-breaking cold snap. There is a polar vortex over this part of the northern hemisphere caused by some disruptions in ocean currents. In the US, Fox News currently cites that this is proof that global warming doesn’t exist. They suggest that if warming did exist, then it wouldn’t be this cold. I think most people seem to disagree with Fox News; many realise that this may indeed be a phenomenon accompanied by human-made climate change. Whatever the truth may be, it has been good preparation for our trip to Iceland.

I underestimated how the cold can feel. And although we haven’t been to Iceland yet, I can tell from the experience of this week that we really do need to be very well prepared. When the wind gets up, it is biting and chilling, and your fingers feel like they want to freeze off. Coupled with the disruption of snow. Of course, to us it was lovely, but to UK residents I suppose it was a bit of a pain. Yep, it’s certainly been an excellent introduction to a northern hemisphere winter.

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

We’ve tried to take it easy. We still overestimated our capacity and underestimated the difficulty of going out. For example, we were supposed to go out to Welwyn Garden City this evening to meet up with some friends. But it looked like some of those friends may not have been able to make it and even if they did, the children are exhausted. I think that the events of the week and caught up with them and they need to just have an evening to themselves, where they can relax with Saturday night television and a good home-cooked meal.

In fact, what’s on TV is very good. I wish we had TV programming like this in Australia on a Saturday night, rather than a movie that is trying to promote its sequel, punctuated by frequent advertisements. Ads are regulated in the UK, no more than 6 minutes per hour. In Australia, it feels like you get 6 mins of programming per hour, with the rest as ads. TGD is a variety show about dancing, with every routine needing to incorporate a designated n object into the routine. It’s fascinating. I love how the BBC especially can invent new formats and shows and be quite adventurous and what they do so that a decent but traditional talent show actually become something a little more creative.

Bedtime beckons. The little one is exhausted and won’t go to bed. I’ll try a story with her. We went to West End Books this afternoon. It’s nice to go into a bookshop that’s alive and buzzing; a chance to celebrate literature socially. Even I got something or 2. But that reading will have to wait until everything else is done. In the meantime, my story for the little one is “The Golden Goose.”