Phew - what a scorcher!

While in the southern hemisphere a temperature of 29 degrees passes without note, here in Blighty it is a different story. The kind of hysteria that usually attends a Take That concert gripped broadcasters, weathermen and newspaper editors alike. Shelves in supermarkets were refilled as fast as they were emptied of soft baps and rose wine, and all roads to the sea were choked with cars filled with the overfed and overheated beach-bound.  The obsession for most was whether we would witness a new record for October. 29.4 last measured in October 1985 had to be beaten and it was - 29.9 degrees measured in Gravesend. Cue ticker tape parades, sky rocket launches and calls for a national holiday in celebration.

After sweating my way through a morning at the bakery, we assembled everything we needed for a day at the beach, got the last parking spot in our usual place and settled in for a long afternoon of barbecuing, eating, drinking and fishing with a group of friends. The watercolours I brought down were put to good use as the kids painted pebbles and wood, our barbecues smoked enough to send most of the other occupants of the beach away, fishing lines were cast and jumping mackerel were pulled in to the delight of some kids and the horror of others. Amazingly Rob swam in the sea, the English Channel. Seriously. Then home for baths and X Factor. Not bad.