Shocking news from Scotland
... The weather was really nice for the whole weekend! Really. All of it.
Of course it's still Scotland. When Deb and I went for a paddle in the stream pictured above, the nerves in our feet started screaming at us after about ten seconds. We had a similar experience in the sea the next day when we went to the beach with loads of people from church, below. Others, who could be described as braver or more foolish, actually went swimming; some of us were content simply to be outdoors and warm all day long.
After the winter we had, this feels like the start of repayments for a debt. Greedy for more, thoughts turn to the gloriously endless days of June when the sun will set forty minutes after it has left London (take that, southerners!) and the sky won't seem to get any darker than inky blue.
Many true Scots declare their independence from the climate by wearing next to nothing until late November and after February, and at any point in between when the sun has been spotted. I've felt conspicuous without even opening my English mouth by wearing a coat, hat, gloves and scarf as a guy in jeans and a T-shirt walks alongside me.
It's fascinating to sense the psychological effects of the weather. When it's cold, dark and wet, you naturally wrap up, hunch into yourself to preserve what heat you have, and try to get from one dry place to the next as quickly as possible. Social interaction is a hindrance to this and so in a culture of private home lives, community freezes. In summer days and evenings, we could stay out here together forever. Clearly more warmth is required, wherever it comes from.
Whatever the weather, Debbie and I are loving married life. To clarify from my previous post, I am not at all bored! My head is clearer than it has been for months, giving me long-desired space to think. As I fit my life around her crazy shift patterns, I'm keen to do lots of reading, studying, and many other things. Not much outdoor activity today, though, it's raining.
Of course it's still Scotland. When Deb and I went for a paddle in the stream pictured above, the nerves in our feet started screaming at us after about ten seconds. We had a similar experience in the sea the next day when we went to the beach with loads of people from church, below. Others, who could be described as braver or more foolish, actually went swimming; some of us were content simply to be outdoors and warm all day long.
After the winter we had, this feels like the start of repayments for a debt. Greedy for more, thoughts turn to the gloriously endless days of June when the sun will set forty minutes after it has left London (take that, southerners!) and the sky won't seem to get any darker than inky blue.
Many true Scots declare their independence from the climate by wearing next to nothing until late November and after February, and at any point in between when the sun has been spotted. I've felt conspicuous without even opening my English mouth by wearing a coat, hat, gloves and scarf as a guy in jeans and a T-shirt walks alongside me.
It's fascinating to sense the psychological effects of the weather. When it's cold, dark and wet, you naturally wrap up, hunch into yourself to preserve what heat you have, and try to get from one dry place to the next as quickly as possible. Social interaction is a hindrance to this and so in a culture of private home lives, community freezes. In summer days and evenings, we could stay out here together forever. Clearly more warmth is required, wherever it comes from.
Whatever the weather, Debbie and I are loving married life. To clarify from my previous post, I am not at all bored! My head is clearer than it has been for months, giving me long-desired space to think. As I fit my life around her crazy shift patterns, I'm keen to do lots of reading, studying, and many other things. Not much outdoor activity today, though, it's raining.