Hot as…

With my hubby being from Britain, we generally spend 3-4 of our summer weeks there visiting friends and family. People get jealous when I tell them this, and they have a right to be to some extent, but honestly, it’s not really a vacation- it’s an extended family visit. 

Anyway, this summer we had our first summer trip to Britain in 4 years due to pregnancy and COVID. When we were packing, Hubby pointed out that our Disney Spirit Jerseys (a clothing item we’re uncomfortably obsessed with) would be perfect for the British climate, which tends to be in the 60s and 70s, even in the summer. And it’s usually a grey and rainy, cool 60s-70s. I was so excited to have an excuse to wear my Spirit Jerseys! 

And I suppose I did have an excuse for the first few days while we were in London. Even though it’s usually much warmer there than in Wales, we got the typical Welsh weather at the beginning of July. 

Lily LOVED her time in London, btw. We got an amazing book for her a few months ago to prep her for some sights she would see. She became so fascinated with Big Ben that we showed her videos. And by some stroke of luck, Blippi (if you don’t know who Blippi is, you clearly don’t know anyone with small children) did a video in London a few months before we went, as well, so it gave her a lot of ways to prepare for his visit. She was absolutely devastated when we had to leave. 

Once we got to Wales, the Spirit Jerseys… got put in a closet in favor of t-shirts because the weather warmed up fast. I was so glad I brought a single pair of shorts, even though I didn’t expect to be using it almost at all. And the temperatures kept climbing. 

Now. Where we come from in NJ, our summers are relatively brutal. Our temperatures are mostly in the 90s, and that’s normal. And yes it’s bad, but we have air conditioning, which, believe it or not, is not common in the UK. 

When I started coming to Britain on the regular, about 15 years ago, I was appalled by this lack of what seems like a basic human right. But people there always told me on those anomaly 90 degree days, “Oh, it doesn’t normally get this hot, so we don’t actually need it.” Except… every year, it’s been hitting those temperatures for at least several days. 

And this year, the forecasts in mid-July sounded like the apocalypse was upon Britain’s doorstep. We knew extreme heat was coming for about a week before it did, and people were told to stay indoors and do absolutely nothing. 

Admittedly, our hot NJ blood kind of giggles at the idea of 85-92 degrees shutting down a country. But then, that lack of air and of being used to it had to be acknowledged. My apprehension did mount as the hottest days drew closer. 

And then… it wasn’t that bad. Outside, at least. Which was slightly hilarious because all the news reports warned people to lock their doors and go nowhere. As if 92 degrees could melt the asphalt or something. In reality, the humidity of that week in Britain was about 28%, meaning 92 degrees was 92 degrees, and there was even a bit of a breeze if you sat in the shade.

Also, in a country where air conditioning exists in your car but not in your house, WHY WOULD YOU STAY IN YOUR HOUSE?! On the hottest days, we went for long drives to be in the air for longer. We sought out coffee shops that had air and drank iced coffee and frappuccinos. 

And it’s with that that we come upon a very stupid story that still has me giggling in a rolling my eyes kind of way. 

On Hot Day #1, we drove to a cute, valley town and stopped at Costa coffee. (Costa is one of Britain’s Starbucks rival. Whereas America has no real Starbucks alternative, Britain has two others, and Costa is one.) I was rather floored that they had air conditioning because that was NOT my experience in Europe years earlier. My mother in law had a mango bubble frappe with popping, juice filled boba. 

On Hot Day #2, we drove past a few Welsh beaches to see how many people were silly enough to sit out in the ungodly heat, and we stopped at a newly built Costa because it was a sure bet that a new building would have air conditioning. Yay! They did! Hubby ordered the same drink my MIL had the day before. 

“We’re out of big straws,” the barista told us.

“So we’ll have to serve it to you with a spoon, if that’s okay.”

“Sure.” Hubby would not be deterred by how silly he would look drinking bubble tea with a straw. 

“And we only have small cups.”

“That’s fine.”

“And we’re out of frappe powder, so the consistency is going to be a little off.”

At this point, I may have given up on the beverage as it wasn’t particularly what was being ordered anymore. But not my husband. Oh, no. He was just fine with his small, spooned, weird consistency drink. 

But the piece de resistance? When we got the drink, it had no bubbles. When the barista told my mother in law they were out, she asked if she could have half her money back as she was getting about half of what she ordered. 

“No. It doesn’t work like that,” she was told. 

Yeah, well, Britain. Your summers don’t work the way you think they do, either.