Hello there… from Tattooine’s Dune Sea…. also twinned with Nottingham 😉 Eee, it’s a bit warm.
Changing behaviours
Given the Met Office’s Extreme Heat warning for the UK, I was not exactly looking forward to it. But, you might as well be cross at the sea! 🙃 It is what it is, and we’ll just to make the best of it.
For overseas readers, the Midlands and southern England – gah, I sound like a weather presenter! 😁 – has mostly been mid 30s Celsius… and 35C is about 95F in old money. Colloquially it’s known as “Hot AF” 🫠 That level of heat is unusual for the UK…. although – thanks Climate Change and morons – that is rapidly becoming a thing each summer.
With the extreme temperatures, it was time to shift behaviours. Not just keeping doors & windows open and then closed & curtained later on, but changing my day around too.
I am not really a morning person, but needs be, and the doggos needed their daily walk. So, I set my alarm at stupid o’clock, got up, and we had a gentle stroll near the wood before the HellSun cast is baleful glare upon us 🙃 Oh, how I have enjoyed the shade from the woods and trees; heavenly! 🙏 Sniffing for the hounds, and respite for me plus good views. What’s not to like?
Evening’s have been a bit tricky given most British houses are not built for this. I mean, we’re pretty renown for rain, fog, and sarcasm – not always in that order, either. Luckily, our house is not a modern build, so the walls are very thick. That keeps the worst of the heat out, although eventually the stonework heats up, and that lasts. If we’re lucky, nighttime has cooled enough to open the windows, put netting on the opening, and run a fan.
I don’t think it will be too long before we think about having air-con fitted. We have a portable unit for the Ever Lovely Mrs J because her health conditions make her feel the heat much more. Plus, upstairs is a modern construction, so it’s generally 5C hotter upstairs that outside. Great if you want to run a solar oven or glass blowing business without a kiln; not so great if you’re coping with chronic fatigue!
On that note, I’m wondering if now is the time to switch to ‘reversible heat pumps’ and/or solar panels. The latter would help offset any cooling costs, and I would hope that the extra layer between roof and sun, might mean less of the heat makes it into the roof space. Listening to Diane at Chams last night, I’m also thinking if better insulation would help. Of course, it’s a balance between putting money in now, and the return/benefit we’d get over the decades we will be here.
The former – reversible heat pumps – mean they heat in the winter, and – yes, you guessed it! 😉 – cool in the summer. I think upstairs could really do with it. I guess it’s a question of cost and disruption. There’s also the new option to have a storage battery, where you can keep all that free solar energy for use later on. Very tempting!
Greening
I was about to say it ain’t easy being green, but a couple of bits of good news. On a personal note, the new-to-me electric-dad-mobile 2.0 has been worth every penny. The longer range and more efficient motors mean I’m able to go further and worry a lot less about charging. Indeed, a recent trip to up passed York on one charge certainly helped boost my confidence. That and learning about fast charging.
With the increase battery capacity it means I’ve been able to run the car’s A/C, which is invaluable given the inside has reported being 38C. No, we don’t have a garage, so you just have to make the best of it! 🙂
The other bit of good news is from Positive News, as they’re reporting this about new car sales:
For the first time, electric vehicles (EVs) have outsold petrol cars in the UK – a milestone which comes amid a row over the future of the UK’s ‘zero-emissions vehicle’ (ZEV) mandate.
Positive News, week 26 : “EVs outsold petrol cars for first time in UK”
The mandate sets a rising target for the share of new car sales that must be zero-emissions vehicles each year. The motor industry is pushing back, arguing that demand for the cars is too low. Fresh data from Carbon Brief suggests otherwise. It found that in the year to May 2026, 516,490 new EVs were sold, versus 504,010 new petrol cars.
Yes, I’m aware that leccy cars are not magical carbon Hoovers that run on goodwill & moonbeams. Also, yes, they are not perfect for everyone, and yes they are not cheap. Ah, again, the difficult of being green: money!
That aside, if we are starting to turn the corner on petrol – no pun intended – I’m hoping that will make a difference. Not just to the climate, but also to politics and people too. For folk, Carbon Brief report that “…saving an average of £1,100 a year in fuel costs, compared with running a petrol car.” I guess that means I’ve paid for my at home charger many times over.
As to politics – dare I mention those? – perhaps a shift away from Big Oil will make some positive change. Yes, I’m aware that oil is more than just fuel, but all it takes is a spike in oil costs, and it seems nearly everything – food, heating, manufacturing, etc – all shoot up in cost.
Isn’t this a trans-something-or-other blog?
Ah, you got me on that one 😉
With the weather being so hot and my Celtic blood’s biochemical thermopedantry – “nae too hot or tae cold!” 😉 – a visit to Chams in fancier garb was off the cards. Mind you, I’ve been focusing on keeping the hounds safe and myself cool, so maybe that distraction is useful 🤷♀️
To add to the missed opportunities, The Ever Lovely Mrs J and Child 2.0 have been away this week – they’re having a city break to visit museums. Luckily, many of the venues have climate control to protect the artwork.
So you might think that’s the perfect opportunity for wardrobe reviews (and a clear out), fancy nights in, days out, or even a rare travelling dressed to Chams. Not so fast, Buckaroo, says the HellSun 😁
With the heat I’ve not been in the mood to cook. Indeed, hot food is not very enticing. Instead, I’ve been enjoying salads and fish most days. I treated myself to some salmon and that’s been delicious with a twist of lemon.
So, no. I’ve not exactly been up to much on that front. Still, you can only do what you can, best to enjoy the company of friends at Chams, try to take it steady at work, and be sensible in the heat.
Talking briefly of work, I did count my lucky stars on not having to commute anywhere nor use public transport.
Oh, and note of thanks to Val for locking up. I couldn’t stay the full evening as one of our hounds wasn’t feeling very well.
Cue an expensive bill from the vet, but she’s so worth it, bless her 💖
‘Conversion’ or abuse?
Despite week… oof, umm, week four? of my news break, some things do filter down to Geek Hollow. The change of prime minsters – no comment! 🙄 – and that the current administration finally announced a draft bill on banning conversion practices [source: Amnesty International & TransActual ]. As with all things legal, the Devil’s in the detail.
As much as I hope for the best, the cynic in me says the trans protections will be watered down. The phrase “Nothing about us without us” seems to be falling failing to get through. A little bit of me hopes the new head cheese on the political merry-go-round is more queer friendly. One can but hope.
But, let’s have some ally ship positivity to end oh eh? The bathroom is an old battlefield [Stonewall featuring content from The Law Society]
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That’s me sorted for the week. I note the weekend is looking cooler, so hopefully that’ll bring some relief to UK folk.
L x
Sounds like you need more moisture vaporators, and a couple of droids to work them. In these days of low-quality politics, flagshagging and climate collapse, might I propose that England’s national flower be changed from a rose to a nice prickly cactus. So much more in keeping with the times!
Sounds like you’re coping and it’s good to hear a bit of progress against conversion therapy.
BTW, there’s been a problem with Blogger and WordPress updating blogrolls recently. It seems to have sorted itself on Blogger now but I notice that some of your favourite blogs haven’t updated here on YATGB in a while. I have a new post on my transgender art up today that might interest you.
Have a good weekend.
Sue xx
Thanks for the tip off about the RSS issues. I’ll go and check through the system again. I know the plug-in cab stop if there are too many errors.
Update: I think that’s now fixed. At least your blog has snuck up the latest articles list 😉
As to the national flower, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t replaced by a boot print and a badly painted Engerlund mini roundabout model 🙄
On a nicer note, the array of cacti enjoying the hot sun in the bathroom, are coming into bloom. I think the orchid might be in its twilight years, but it’s not done bad for nearly a decade.
Fingers crossed on the draft bill continuing and not being a new bigot’s charter, as some have raised concerns over.
Hopefully without sandworms. Oh, sorry, that’s a different Dune isn’t it. Tattooine is Star Wars, not Arrakis.
It’s been hot. Too hot. The first half of the week was a trade off between the benefit of the air conditioned offices at work and the killing bus journey home as the temperature peaked between 4.30 and 6pm. But being at home for the last couple of days proved no better with the heat sapping any energy to do more than sprawl on the sofa.
You’d think a steady diet of salads might have reduced the unconfortable midriff bloat a bit, but I’m starting to think it’s more down to the meds.
Been reading Prof. Alice Roberts’ book Dominion on the Roman era in Britain and Gaul and her description of villas built around twin hot and cold bathing pools and thinking we lost a trick when they moved out. We need that sort of house design more than ever.
I must confess my super heat references to tend to lean towards Dune. I guess the films are not recent, and the word Arakis has a lovely sound to it. Is the last part of the trilogy out now?
Ah, sandworms! Problems for the spice harvesters and also Beetlejuice. They do get around! 🙂
Nerd note: I think there’s a very large sandworm type creature on Tattooine… Ah, here we are, the Krayt Dragon, if you’re curious.
Sorry to hear you’ve been suffering with the heat. I bet the bus ride back was horrible, bless you. Hopefully the weather will cool down a bit this weekend and into next week.
As to bathing pools, that does sound a good idea. I did put about two inches of water on one of the laundry tubs, and stuck my feet in midweek. That helped me a bit, but you don’t want to do too long.
Dare I up the Nerd stakes here. I’m fairly sure the Sarlacc in Star Wars (that Jabba the Hutt tries to feed the heroes to) is based on Dune’s sandworms. Whether Lucas was also making a nod to Audrey II, the man-eating plant from outer space from the musical Little Shop of Horrors, or whether it was the other way round and Frank Oz (Yoda) was inspired by the Sarlacc when he directed the delightful film version of that schlock masterpiece, I leave to the truly greatest nerds to determine. Mind you, much of Tattooine is a reworking of Dune anyway.
The blogroll issue has improved, though there are still hiccups here and there. A Sith curse upon the whole electronic universe!
Looking at my weather app (it’s called Windy – don’t laugh), I get the impression that the UK Midlands have a bit of relief from hot weather now. We’ve just had a much-promised but long-delayed thunderstorm here now and it’s quite refreshing this evening.
Sue xx
I feel it’s a tricky one when you look into who or what influenced things. That’s not to say the points about Dune/Tattooine and Sarlacc/Sandworms aren’t valid. On the latter, Sandworms are absolutely huge. I guess there’s a question of what size are the young, but not having read any of the Dune books, I can’t comment.
As to Audrey (“Feed me, Seymour!” 😁), I guess they fit into the classic tropes around pastiche, knowing looks, spoofs, and One For The Fans. I still think of Steve Martin’s amazing musical performance, as the sadistic dentist.
Good to hear the blogging just has settled a little. I’m not programmer, so I’m depending on the plug-in catching collection errors. As I’m using it for free, I guess beggars can’t be choosers 🙂
As the the weather app – if you had rename that, please make it Windy Miller 😉 Oh, that’s given me an idea for something silly. Moving on… Yeah, the weather is better. Still warm at early to mid 20s, so doggo care required, and the good news is we’re not sweltering under the heat.
It is, but of course, heating up this week and just in time for Chams. Maybe the weather gods will be kind of an middle aged genderfluid duffer, like me 🙂
I wish I could afford an EV, but we have to have a wheelchair accessible vehicle, and they are ridiculously expensive as it is, without adding being an EV into the mix. The other conundrum is that I love classic cars, which guzzle petrol. But we can’t deny that we are damaging the planet. Talking of planets, the only thing I can remember about going to see the original version of Dune, is lots of sand and Sting.
Dee xxx
Our nextdoor neighbour used to have a Mobility Plus vehicle. But that’s a medium term lease, so they’re between vehicles at the mo. Not saying you should do that. Just that was their experience.
I can say that my car was new to me, as I don’t have new car money. It’s fine for what I need, so very pleased with it. Now, if we could get very reliable AI* to drive and I could nap, that’s the future.
( * Today’s oxymoron 😉 )