Vicky Goes On (Again)

Tag: summer

  • And now the weather…

    Photo by Anjana Menon on Unsplash

    Last week temperatures reached a high of 35°C – a record for May. I bought an AC unit, despite the fact that I am very poor and I probably have to move out soon since my landlord is selling the flat. So, it was a stupid, rash decision that I do not regret since I am now cool as a cucumber.

    Today’s temperature is 17°C. And I didn’t bring a jacket to work. And it is raining cats and, indeed, dogs.

    I’m too hot, I’m too cold. I’m 44 and my leg hurts. My hair is grey, I’m never happy. I am too much and not enough. This is what late-stage capitalism and climate change has done to me. To you too. I sometimes wonder what the future looks like and then I remember that all we wanted were the hoverboards from Back to the Future II and all we have is microplastics and cybertrucks.

    I currently work in the City of London (OK, across the road, but I walk through it) which is the financial square mile. It’s where Liverpool Street and the London Wall is… anyway, I saw one of them Waymo cars that they’re testing and I just thought: OK, but why? Not for any amazing/deep/thoughtful reason. Just, well, what is the damn point? In some US cities I can almost get on board (except they do feel dystopian whatever why I look at it) since they tend to have cities purpose built for cars. All grid system and straight lines and none of this middle ages stuff knocking about. I walk past a ruin every day and I think, “huh, look at that”. Anyway, US cities and Milton Keynes – sure have self-driving cars. But LONDON? Sheesh.

    Back to the point. The weather is making me feel insane. Yesterday there was thunder and lightning and it was very frightening. Next week we’ll be back to too hot to handle summertime blues. I cannot deal with this. This country used to be a real place. A temperate place. With snow in the Winter and picnic-weather Spring. Now, it’s too much all over the shop and I think that it should be illegal. Can someone sort this out, please?

  • Bank Holiday

    It’s the last bank holiday of the Summer and the weather is slowly turning autumnal. The leaves are falling off the trees and the air is getting a bit crispy and clear. Also, since it’s August, it means it’s the Notting Hill Carnival.

    Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a curmudgeon about all sorts of things so don’t think that I’m singling Carnival out for any sort of ideological reasons. It’s just that I am from right near there and they always got in my fucking way. AND the shops locally try to rip off the locals thinking we’re carnival-goers. And the tube stations are exit only and the rubbish is strewn all over the bleedin’ shop.

    And another thing, some of us don’t want to stay awake listening to whistles, throbbing bass lines, and vuvuzelas (are they even still a thing actually?).

    I often wonder why I always feel so reluctant to get involved with bank holidays and summer fun. And I have realised that the reason I am reluctant is because everyone else is also there. I much rather have a random day off with a lot fewer people about. For someone born in London I sure don’t like crowds. Sidenote: I have just been having a conversation with the enigmatic flatmate where I just admitted that I find interacting with anyone at all a bit much. Sometimes. God, it’s hard being a human person.

    It’s not a bank holiday in Scotland or Ireland this week and that’s why i have always enjoyed visiting those countries during this weekend but in an effort to save some pennies I have not gone anywhere at all this year. And yet, I am still not a millionaire. I don’t even have Netflix.

    P.S. I want some barbecue chicken and I have been thinking about indoor, smokeless barbecue cookers. Who knew such things existed? What a world.

  • Should I Stay(cation) or Should I Go?

    Basically I thought of the title of this first… so we’ll see how this goes.

    It really annoys me that people use the word ‘staycation’. It extra annoys me that they use the word ‘staycation’ when they are talking about taking a holiday in their home country.
    It is my view that a ‘staycation’ is when you take annual leave and stay at home. That’s the ‘staying’ part. If you leave your house and travel somewhere THAT’S A REGULAR VACATION. I don’t live in Cornwall (other places are available) so if I go there I am holidaying there.

    Also, and maybe I’m just showing my poverty-stricken childhood roots here, why do we have to go away for our Summer hols? And why do we feel like we’ve failed if we don’t? My mum was Spanish so when I was little we went to Spain a fair few times to stay with various aunts and uncles in very non-touristy 1980s Spain. These were resolutely not holidays. These were visiting family where there were no distractions of any kind. Except one time I found a small lizard which I touched with a blade of dried grass I found. And it wriggled.
    Good times.

    Also, we spend so much money on paying for our flats and houses and relatively little time actually being in them (unless you work from home, I suppose) – I wanna get my money’s worth, damn it. I recently had to take some time off from work for annual leave and I just hung out. I met up with some friends in the day, like we were on holiday in London. Explored places I’d never been to before. That was a staycation. I stayed at home. And, bonus, I caught the sun and it looked like I had been away somewhere.

    In fact, since I actually do live in London, an actual tourist-y place, why shouldn’t I be a tourist in my own hometown? Why do these holiday-makers get to have all the fun whilst I’m commuting and eating tuna pasta for dinner? HUH? I wanna get in office workers way on their lunch breaks.

    So, I won’t be going away this year because I am trying not to spend all of my money. Or maybe I will go somewhere in Winter? Or maybe not. I don’t know what I am doing in general.
    Should I stay or should I go? Maybe this isn’t just about holidaying.