The Hottest Summer

This summer has had brutal heatwaves. Thousands of people across Europe have died due to air conditioning not being common here. Luckily, Mum and I have portable units that can keep living rooms cool. But they’re noisy for sleeping, and mine has a condenser fault that requires it to be drained every few hours. I think this winter I will try to get a split system air conditioner installed. It won’t be quite the same as a proper central system like you get in America. But at least it should keep the flat cool.

A Busy July

Halfway though July, we realised that we'd forgotten about the Seafood Festival. We'd bought tickets months ago, but not put the dates in the calendar. Which lead to a mixup where I had planned to go away with the guys that weekend! It all ended up okay in the end, as We went on Friday and Sunday afternoon. Leaving Saturday and Sunday morning free to hang out with the guys. Everyone wins.

Then tonight I'm going to see the band Steel Panther, who are an 80s hair metal retro act. But their lyrics are incredibly rude and funny. A friend put me onto them about 15 years ago, and so I thought it's probably a good idea to see them now. 

America's 250th

It's been 250 years since the United States declared independence from England. I kinda thought there would be more going on to mark the occasion. But maybe there is, and we don't hear about it over here. I know that Great American State Fair isn't proving as popular as anticipated. At least you won't have to wait in long lines, I guess. 

Backup Holiday

With Alderney off the menu, we decided visit the Isle of Wight instead. We had a lovely time in Ventnor (which I kept mispronouncing all the time) and Shanklin. We had to pay another visit to the Garlic Farm, and even stopped by the Needles, as Jen never got the chance to see them up close before.

Birthday Letdown

Jen and I were going to go to Alderney in the Channel Islands for my birthday today. But I received a text message at lunchtime saying the flight was delayed. After getting to the airport, I was hoping the delay would lessen as it was caused by early morning fog. Sadly, after waiting about 45 minutes, they cancelled the flight altogether. In order to get us there, they were offering to drive us to Gatwick Airport where we would fly to Guernsey later tonight. Then tomorrow they would "try to get us on a boat to Alderney".

After talking it over, that sounded like a big risk to me. Not to mention on Friday when we come back, it's also scheduled to fog. A bit of a birthday letdown, that's for sure. 

Unsaintly Behaviour

After making it to the Championship playoff finals following an amazing unbeaten run, it turns out Southampton FC have been cheating by spying on other teams' practice sessions. 

They've been kicked out of the playoffs, the team we've beaten has taken our place, and we've been deducted four points from next season.

We're finished.

Adventures In Seville

Last week Jen and I went to Seville for a few days. We stayed at a fantastic hotel and had a lovely time. The food was amazing, and there was jamón ibérico everywhere. What made it even better was the cultural heritage festival happening at the same time. This meant that everywhere you looked there were horse drawn carriages and women wearing traditional flamenco outfits. We were a stone's throw from the bull fighting ring as well, and could hear the cheering from out balcony.