The Boy and The Coconut Tree

The UK is now on the 6th week of a heatwave that has only weakened once with thunderstorms, flooding and train chaos. Yes the British summer continues to be as everyone expects it to be, changeable and unpredictable. It reached 34c somewhere near London in the last week of July and it reached 29c inside my apartment, another record. I've made it to the beach a few times this summer, certainly more than last year and I stupidly booked my summer holiday in Australia where they were having their winter and now all the flights to places I could visit (and be hosted by friends) are crazy high.  £300 return to Barcelona from London is silly. I flew to Australia for £702 on a far better airline than Easyjet. But I guess Barcelona is the place people want to fly to in July and August much to the chagrin of the locals who are increasingly unhappy with the crowds of tourists who are swamping the city and making some neighbourhoods unlivable for locals. My friends in Spain are telling me how...

Is it me or do the years go faster as you pass 30? It feels as if they are fewer days per year or that time has sped up in some way that would puzzle even Stephen Hawking.  I started writing this post on December 30 when Christmas was over, I was back in the office and I was contemplating spending New Years Eve in bed watching sitcoms and avoiding the alcohol and 1 night only friendliness but I did haul my grumpy ass out for the evening and had a nice evening, I was entertained by my friends and watching the other guests at a party. Some of them are what our parents would call swingers and every time I see them they have a new "swing" this time it was a guy much younger than them who seemed to have consumed a lot more than alcohol because every song that came on, be it an Adele ballad or a euro pop hit, he danced as if it was 150bpm.  It was amusing. The couple in question think I am odd, I find that ironic. I've been to the same party with the same host 5 out of the pa...