Yes, it’s hot. Maybe not as hot as other places around the country and Europe, but 40 degrees in the shade in the courtyard on Saturday is still pretty warm. We’re reading about the Acropolis closing at the hottest times of the day, the government ordering no deliveries are to be made between noon and 5 pm, and temperatures of over 42 degrees in Syntagma Square. So, if you are heading this way anytime soon, be prepared.
The usual rules apply: Drink lots of water*, stay out of the sun, eat properly, rest, and don’t be selfish and leave the air con on when you go out, because there’s no point and you’re robbing the rest of the island of the power. Leave water out for the stray cats if stray cats are your thing, and remember that most waiting and bar staff are running daily 12 + hour shifts with no day off until the end of the season, so, be nice. Cover up, put on sun protection, wear a hat, and do all the sensible things you know you should be doing.
[* Beer is not water, nor are coffee, tea, orange juice, gin and tonic, wine, iced tea or anything else that’s ‘mainly water.’ You want pure bottled water, and the only thing to add is electrolytes like ‘Almora’ which you can buy at the pharmacies.]
However, please refrain from walking through the village in your summer thong, showing off your bottom bits and rubber parts as though you were poolside. What you are doing, actually, is wandering through a pretty ancient village where real people live, and it’s insulting to see the poor job your stylist made of your Brazilian runway, or whatever. I am sure you wouldn’t go walking down Harlow High Street dressed as though you’re on your private yacht. Even if you are an allegedly gorgeous Italian or a wealthy French personne d’intérêt, we are not intéressée (or even intéressé) to see you without your clothes on. So, put it away, love, and show some respect.
For many of us, this high heat is nothing new, though it’s never welcome and you never really get used to it. You just learn to adapt, to be sensible, and stay as cool as possible, move around as little as possible, and do things according to the temperature rather than time. That’s why I’m up at 2.30 writing this, when it’s only 32 degrees outside, and not doing it at 3 pm when it will be 40 plus.
On the upside, we don’t have to have our hot water tank turned on at the moment. The water from the cold tap comes out hot because our water tank is outside, and the water from the hot tap comes out cold-ish because the hot water tank is inside and switched off. We don’t have aircon, and my desk fan runs from the PC, while the other two we have run on goodwill and a lot of WD40. The windows are wide open, letting in the children of the night (mosquitoes, rats, cockroaches and other gate crashers), and if you come to our door, expect to wait while we get dressed before answering.
On which note, let’s get on with another warm day during which Neil intends to take his exercise and go swimming long before nine in the morning, and I am resigned to spending my time between typowriter and sofa-dozing because I have been awake since 1.30 this morning, thanks to a nightmare about eating cannelloni on the Kali Strata. That could have been a side effect of the heat, or just me.
