I don't think I can let the hottest summer ever recorded in this country go by without laying down a few scorching Tooleytales.
One thing certainly worth noting for posterity was the purchase of a 2 metre paddling pool by my Austrian friends during their August visit.
Wot a laugh. I got home from work early one Wednesday afternoon as it was such a hot day. When I arrived at the front door unexpectedly my Alpine friends came rushing indoors in their usual mode of garden dress (undress) telling me to close my eyes. Very confusedly doing as instructed, I clamped my eyeballs shut as they walked me into the garden.
"Guess what?" they laughingly exclaimed.
"WHAT?" I replied, very puzzled.
Knowing these two of old, I was fully expecting them to have repainted my shed,
or something equally outrageous.
"We've won the lottery and bought you a swimming pool"
"WHAT??" I replied, even more perplexed.
When I reopened my peepers, there was a 2 metre diameter kiddies pool in the
garden full to the brim with water.
YES!!!
RESULT!!!
Off with clothes, and straight in for a lovely cool dip.
They told me that they were extremely lucky to get it. These pools had been
earmarked to arrive in the shops early June, but due to an ordering error they
never got there till mid August. This is normally the time that summer stuff
gets packed away, and Xmas fairy lights start making an appearance in the shops.
As it was, they never even got to the stage of being displayed before every
one sold out. Sweaty shoppers had been scouring the stores for weeks trying
to locate anything vaguely resembling a pool for their kids, and the news went
around Portchester precinct like wildfire. My friends just happened to be in
the right place at the right time. Only £10 each as well. The shop could
have trebled the price and still sold the lot
We spent ages in that pool that evening...later on when some more pals came around for a BBQ, we all jumped in it before they arrived, and called them in through the side gate. They couldn't believe their eyes. Needless to say they resisted all offers to join us.
When we checked out our lottery ticket late that night, blow me we'd won a tenner, so the pool WAS free. We HAD won the lottery. Even bigger result!!!
This weather can continue for as long as it likes, a good thermal adjustment
for my next trip to Oz later this year.