Where did summer go?

They say the Brits live for their holidays and who can blame us when summer passes by with the blink of an eye. Each year we're on tenterhooks wondering what kind of summer we'll have and each year if we're lucky we get 30 days of so-called heat wave weather - i.e. 25-27°celsius but not continuous mind you.

When those rare days come, the media gets into frenzy with statistics about how many years it has been since the last heat wave and this is followed by the overly-obvious health and safety warnings telling people to make sure they carry water with them. It’s a miracle people in the Caribbean and other tropical countries aren’t dropping off every second from dehydration.

The British public for their part are happy to strip down to the bare minimum at the first sighting of the sun…..such is the level of sun starvation in this country.

May usually starts off well enough with a few warm days which make the news headlines and are billed as ‘the hottest it’s been this time of the year for the past decade/century/millennium.

June is often the most promising with atleast a week or two of continuous sunshine – in other words decent summer weather. We’re so grateful that even when it starts raining 14 days later, we comment that ‘we’ve had a good summer’.

July which should be the peak of summer ends up being a bit of a washout – we turn into confused idiots not quite knowing what to wear, the mornings are dull grey and quite cold and by the afternoon we’re cursing ourselves for having worn those 50 denier tights which seemed like such a good idea as the cold wind battered us on the way to the office.

Finally August we’re told by the weather forecasters (who may as well be called weather psychics as they are as accurate as Mystic Meg) will see a return of the hot weather even a heat wave or two. And so we wait….and wait…week one…grey and rainy…not particularly cold but certainly not warm, week two – drizzly wet weather forcing us to bring out the spring jackets….then we hope it will all change in time for the bank holiday weekend, we pray that Mr Sunshine will make a comeback bigger than 80s shoulder pads……and go ahead with our plans for the kiddie picnic and family barbecue. Of course, as with each year the chances of a sunny end of August are slim to say the least…..especially as August bank holiday has become synonymous with rain. So there ends our last hope of decent summer weather.

Finally September comes round and we know it’s all over and we want to weep into our scarves. It wouldn’t be so bad if we had had three months of predictable summer weather but what makes it a real b**** and why we resort to flicking through the Mediterranean holiday brochures, is that summer has just passed us by…unceremoniously. Fortunately for us the South of France, Spain, Greece and Italy are a hop, skip and a jump away so we can rest assured that our strappy dresses and bikinis which still have their tags on, will get a viewing at last and for longer than just a few pathetic hours of sunshine which in short is what charaterizes British summer.

Let's hear it for New York

I think New York City is one of those places that you either love or hate. It’s impossible to be indifferent towards this giant of a city with possibly fewer Americans than anywhere else in USA. New York like London epitomises the term melting pot – there are so many diverse cultures living under the New York sky that calling yourself American could not be less chic. Everyone is proud to talk about their country of origin, and unlike so many other parts of the US, few people want to claim the American identity as their own. I guess life is more fun being Afro-Japanese, Senegalese, Trinidadian or Ecuadorian, when you living in New York City anyway.
I first discovered the city as a teenager, so being young and extremely self-confident, I relished its intensity and felt quite comfortable taking in the sights one block at a time. I suspect though that if I’d gone there as an adult, especially as a mother, I may have found it all a little overwhelming. Where do you start? The choices seem so numerous that making a decision about what to do and where to eat can be a day’s task in itself.

For eating out – you can go for Brazilian at Casa in the West Village, French at Chez Oskar in Fort Greene, Soul food at Sylvia’s in Harlem or Indian and Latin American fusion at Vermillion in midtown Manhattan.

For entertainment – do we see Fela on Broadway, The Roots with Talib Kweli on Summer Stage in Prospect Park or The Merchant of Venice as part of Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park?

For the kids – there’s the Imagination Playground at South Street Seaport, the Water park in Chelsea or the Kidflix film Festival in Fulton Park.

If shopping is your thing then head to Soho for a range of high street and designer stores or check out the countless department stores from Bloomingdales to Bloomingdales to Macy’s to Saks Fifth Avenue. And coming away with a light blue box, however little from Tiffany’s is a treat for most women.

Whatever you choose to do there seems to be one guarantee when you visit New York and that is boredom is not part of the itinerary. New York is an intense city with something for everyone, and even the pizzazz of Times Square is not your cup of tea, there is some little corner of the big apple that is sure to appeal whatever your taste.
The Best Things to Do in New York City: 1001 Ideas