We live in what really is a small house, roughly the same sort of space as a single bed-roomed bungalow but on three floors. You might therefore be able to imagine how bijou the rooms are especially as we have two bedrooms and as small, little used, dining room. There is however additional al fresco space in the form of a balcony over our living room and a deck outside the doors., both of which are very pleasant during the summer.
Unfortunately due to size storage and cupboard space is very limited creating a need to be resourceful in its use. Each autumn and spring there is the bi-annual ceremony of the changing of the clothes, winter for summer and vice-versa, usually the actual timing is decided by the turning point in ambient temperatures and by my wife who I am assured knows about these things.
Some four weeks or so back there was a spell of warm(ish), sunny days, time for the six monthly ritual to be observed. An assortment of storage boxes were duly retrieved from the tops of wardrobes complete with cobwebs and the odd resident spider. It is not that our house is wanting in the cleaning department but because it is very old, of heavy stone construction, cobwebs and spiders are part and parcel of everyday life. Said boxes were duly vested of their contents allowing items of winter wear from wardrobes and drawers to be returned to them for their summer holidays. Having exchanged contents there just remained the small matter of ironing the crumpled assortment of summer wear before placing them in wardrobes and drawers ready for use.
Seems a simple enough concept does it not? Not so. In England there is something called Sod's Law. As yet we have been unable to trace an exact French idea or phrase let's call it, in my best Franglais, le Loi de Sod. This ancient and fairly reliable rule soon made its presence felt. Not three days after summer had arrived, or so we thought and hoped, the weather turned from temperatures in the mid-twenties to the mid-teens, accompanied by showers and northerly winds which have persisted more or less constantly ever since. Yes we are able to wear summer clothing despite this inclemency but it necessitates several layers to sustain reasonable body temperatures and physical comfort. This state of well-being is accompanied by appropriate and judicious use of domestic heating as the mornings and evenings are still particularly chilly.
There have been several days of warm weather when the thought of using the barbecue the following day would be a pleasant thing to do, something which is usually eagerly anticipated. Any such forward planning has been thwarted by a quick change in the weather accompanied by a continuing winter style menu of warming meals and an endless supply of hot drinks.
Summer will come, of that I am persuaded by empirical evidence, an unshakable but possibly misplaced faith in nature and a firm grounding in the laws of probability. As yet there is little evidence of any such change forthcoming ...
When I was but a sproglet there was an old saying that I never really understood but rationalised it thus - don't thump anyone before the beginning of June. In its own way that is quite a sweet, kindly sentiment but it was difficult to grasp why, that in one month, people should not be struck but should be acceptable the next. A number of years elapsed before the actual meaning of this old saw became evident, ne'er cast a clout before may is out. Obvious really, do not put aside any garments until the may bushes are in flower because they are themselves a portent of summer. Well, may bushes have been in blossom here for about a month with no vestige of summer on the horizon so bang goes another old wives tale., which in turn, brings us back neatly to where this ramble began ...
