Forwards and occasionally sidewards – everyday musings of life

As I lay in bed wide awake at 3 AM—struggling to breathe, coughing, and spluttering—I found myself wondering how on earth I manage to pick up quite so many colds. This particular one is a right stinker.

With sleep out of the question, I looked up. The stars were shining brilliantly through the large rectangle of the caravan’s open roof light, and it was then that I began the modern-day equivalent of counting sheep: counting satellites. I was genuinely amazed by just how many drifted through that single frame of glass. Eventually, the cosmic choreography worked, and I drifted back to sleep.

At 8 AM, the saga of the scary bin lorry reached its delayed climax. Poor Moog; the shattering din of recycled bottles being tipped into the truck and the thunderous rolling of wheelie bins sent him straight into a blind panic. That was his morning officially ruined.

With ‘Heatwave 3.0’ now fully underway, I retreated to the woods for a walk before the temperatures peaked. Frankly, my body was doing a perfectly good job of creating its own internal heatwave without any extra help from the British summer. Interestingly, the dogs didn’t seem particularly bothered by the soaring temperatures; they happily basked in the direct sun, rolled around on the lawn, and only crawled into the shade when they absolutely needed to cool down. Pikachu, in particular, is thoroughly enjoying these sweltering days.

By the afternoon, the caravan had transformed into a tin furnace on wheels, radiating a heat that felt hotter than the sun. Desperate, I decided to launch a high-stakes rescue mission into the stifling depths of the garage to retrieve the electric fan, hoping it might cool the caravan down enough for me to comfortably prepare dinner. It required a serious logistical effort—climbing over stacked furniture, shifting heavy boxes, and carefully backfilling my track as I went—but I finally located the prize.

I made a hasty retreat out of the suffocating garage, fan in hand. Mission accomplished. The caravan should be considerably cooler tonight, and with any luck, a decent night’s sleep is on the cards.