It’s been a bit frustrating being in London this go around: the weather has been so hot and humid, we’re just not used to the heat+humidity combo. Temps have been in the mid to upper 30s, except for yesterday when it was a mild 28C or so, yet still with that touch of sticky humidity. As you walk close to the brick buildings, a few inches away, you can feel the heat radiating from the buildup of the last week, even on their shady north sides.
Friday was visiting family. We were going to walk to a nearby pub, maybe 20 minutes, but it wasn’t walking weather at 38C, so we huddled in the ground floor flat of Chris’s parents. It was stuffy and warm, ugh, but what’s the alternative? The 77 units in the OAP home don’t have any AC, so hey we caught up.
Saturday was a bit cooler, and we caught up on our jet lag, though we did venture down to the Decathlon at Canada Water to browse and get some undies. Again, nothing exciting. Didn’t even feel like a meal out—restaurants and pubs generally aren’t air conditioned—so we foraged over at the Tesco Express for sandwiches (nope: their coolers had failed) then the Sainsbury Local (nope nope: more failed fridge unites) before finding something at the Aldi a block away.
Sunday was a visit to the Camberwell Arms for lunchies with Adam and Keith, and the weather turned slightly cooler. Adam and I shared the lamb main, Chris and Keith shared the chicken tarragon pie. It was delicious meal and good company. I quizzed Adam about Box Hill after rereading it on the flight over; I was still questioning why Ray disappeared secretly, and trying to slot in ‘why is Colin so passive, is he capable of growing at all?’ The answers I got around assertiveness and the four genres the novella slots into were interesting, and I asked what the most difficult part of writing was. The novella is much less sexual than the movie based on it, and some themes aren’t expressed at all in the movie, so comparing the two was interesting exercise.
And today, Monday, a mid-afternoon flight to San Sebastián and a quick 5km ride to Hendaye to start walking tomorrow. I’m looking forward to actually starting walking, instead of waiting around in sticky London for the adventure to eventually get going.