If You Can't Take the Heat ...

 ... get out of the kitchen, so it is said.  But this week that has offered no acceptable alternative.  Indeed, at times the kitchen was cooler than the lounge!

Last weekend I was excited about the charts I've been producing in recent weeks for a political organisation.  I'd sent off a sample of the latest project on Friday evening but, knowing that I should hear nothing until Monday, the weekend was largely a combination of data extraction and preparation accompanied by commentary on the Test Match.  

On Monday I was so keyed up that, despite the heat I went ahead and produced all the charts to complete the project, thinking that any adverse comments or critical suggestions that might come along could just as easily be applied to something already created as incorporated in the original production.  In point of fact, no comment or acknowledgement has been received, which neither surprised not disappointed me.  These are busy people, but at the same time August is a quiet month in many walks of life.

At that point, the heat took off and took over.  With the pressure (albeit self-generated) off, boredom and lethargy quickly set in and motivation to do anything departed just as swiftly.  Thus the pattern was set for the next few days.  Tuesday passed in a blur.  I had received an e-mail after I'd gone to bed on Monday (not all of my friends and family are retired!).  It raised a couple of questions that I knew deserved a prompt reply, despite the answer to one of them requiring a bit of thought.  Having devoted time and energy to this, I discovered that it was lunchtime and the only other achievement in my day was making a dental appointment.

I might add at this point that this will be my first such visit for 11 years!  When the recession hit in 2008, and my income dropped by at least half virtually overnight, I knew I had to prune my outgoings severely.  I recall summing up my decision quite harshly. "If I lose my teeth, I can live on soup; if I lose my sight, I stop earning completely and have nothing to live on.".  On the strength of that, I cancelled my Denplan subscription in order to balance continued expenditure on the spectacles that I needed to drive.  I believe it proved to be a wise move for, with only one incidence of toothache in that time, the expense has been minimal compared to a regular payment plan.  If this visit proves to be expensive, it will do no more than add to the fact that I'm living on my savings in any case.

Wednesday followed the pattern of Tuesday.  I had the vague notion of packing up my lunch and driving somewhere.  I couldn't decide where to go, though, and looking at one thing after another on line, being distracted this way and that ... hey presto! It was lunchtime again.  The realisation that I had effectively wasted a whole morning achieving absolutely nothing angered me.  I ate my lunch resolving that action had to be taken.  I have a car - with air conditioning - sitting outside costing a small fortune and going nowhere, while I was sitting inside, sweltering in the heat.  There was definitely an imbalance to life there!

The next two and a half hours were comparative bliss.  I just drove, making up my mind where as I went along.  Re-discovering roads that had been familiar in past times, I made my way first to Bedford and then out through Turvey towards Northampton.  I saw a sign for Wellingborough, and turned that way.  As I did so, a sort of circuit began to form in my mind.  If I were to turn right just before getting there, I should be able to get onto the A1 somewhere south of Brampton Hut (where the A14 crosses it).  

I recalled an assignment termed 'the Golden Key' that someone would be given most evenings for a period of some years when I was working.  Some drivers hated it; I quite enjoyed it both because it was familiar and, for the mileage involved, it was well-paid.  It also meant that I could get a meal out at one of a number of pubs on the way back.  It involved collecting goods from a distribution centre in Biggleswade, driving to Rushden armed with a (brass, not gold) key which would unlock a padlocked gate, allowing the goods to be unloaded in the consignee's yard, long after the staff had gone home.

I now covered that familiar route, albeit back to front, for I was now driving from Rushden to Biggleswade.  I decided that I would stop at Sainsbury's to get some fruit since I was passing, and as I emerged from the car to go into the store and met a 'wall of heat', it reminded me of the brief time I spent in California.  As I drove on home, the dashboard indicator of ambient temperature fluctuated between 34.5 and - a record for me - 36.0 degrees!  The remainder of the afternoon was just as oppressive, but the 85-mile shopping trip had dissipated the anger.  That said, I still needed a siesta before thinking about an evening meal.

Yesterday morning began darkly.  It was as dark at 8.30 am as at 8.30 pm the previous evening.  It wasn't long before the thunder began and the rain came.  The spell was broken and, although still warm, the air was much fresher and I could focus on doing something constructive with my time.  Who knows ... by next weekend there could be achievements!