English Summer

I love summer, and since I am in England, the English Summer. Though it has been a limp summer this year, with the sun emerging out continuously only in August, the mood is fairly upbeat. The best things about an English summer as seen by us visitors are the number of outdoor activities and people buzzing about (And of course the lack of clothing ;P). No wonder they wait for summer like anything.

Come summer, and almost all cars roll their tops down. It is amazing how almost every car manufacturer has a convertible in the mid size segment. Those who have hard-tops make sure their sun roofs are open. Come summer, and the beer flows. Most restaurants and diners bring out the outdoor tables from their hold, and put them out with an umbrella. It is jolly here, almost festive. Malls and supermarkets come up with shopping deals, and a lot of outdoor activities are planned.

It is bright outside by 5 in the morning, and it is not uncommon to see people go to work as soon as seven. Light persists all through the morning and afternoon till about half eight, when twilight begins to set in. Imagine, almost 16 hours of daylight!!! It is sunny when you come from office (5 pm), it is sunny when you change and go to the nearby park to play cricket (6 pm), and when you start walking back home (9 pm), it is just getting darker, and you feel as though it has just struck seven. Mealtimes go for a toss as you don't feel hungry at all. The body, accustomed to having dinner in front of the 9 pm soap, a good two hours after play, just cannot come to terms with the fact that all the meals are taken while the sun is up. So, dinner is postponed to 10.30 or 11, and hence bedtime to 12. Barely five hours later, the sun begins to warm your feet through the skylight on the roof.

The shopping centre here in MK has a large vacant area, to be used for promotional activities all through the year – there are PoP statuettes depicting scenes of the Bible during Christmas, there are job fairs and product exhibitions. Now, they’ve put up some inflatable slides, small trampolines, artificial rock climbing etc for the kids. All of them are manned, so you can just let your kid in there and sit on the chairs around. Most prefer the cool mosaic floor though. On some days where there are no such things, the whole quadrangle is left open. With the children running amuck, and the parents sitting on the floor, you feel as though you are sitting in a large open marriage hall hours before some pot-bellied uncle comes with the utensils in a "goods auto".

One such event was the Summer Screening of the Chak De India Premiere at Somerset House, London. Very similar to the drive-in theatres where you can watch in the comfort of your vehicles, this had a giant screen propped up against one of the walls of the House . Sitting inside the courtyard of the majestic building, I was reminded of our own Mysore Palace, especially when the entire structure was lit up like this.

Held under the auspices of Film4, this drew a sizeable Indian population from in and around London. Even though it was summer, the winds here get a little chilly at night, so there was an option of buying blankets. Nobody needed to, though - they all came prepared.

But what was the NDTV reporter doing here - surely she would not have come all the way from bureau office just to cover a premiere? The real reason was that the King was here. YES - Shahrukh Khan was here, and I saw him in flesh and blood. Less than ten metres away from me stood the Badshah, and set the ball rolling.

Hmm, and there were more of people like me with better cameras and gadgetry, so obviously, if you surf through Youtube, you should be able to catch a better video of him speaking. My poor digicam, craning its lens out could only manage a pathetic effort which I will not reproduce here.

Summer also gave us the opportunity to explore the cycle routes in Milton Keynes. Cancer Research UK had organised a marathon cycle rally - the Get On Your Bike - 2007. A twelve mile track (of medium intensity to suit adults and kids alike) was marked out from Furzton Lake, around the city and back. The route was well marked in fluorescent stickers, and marshals wherever the cycle route intersected the main roads. Halfway through, there was a pit stop, with volunteers offering bottles of water, and bananas for instant energy.

A hugely popular event, it was widely publicised on the radio, and had fitness instructors coming in to administer stretches before the event started. Kids in particular were more enthusiastic - most had their own small cycles, but I could see a few toddlers sitting on tandem bicycles and kicking their limbs awry.

They tell me it was better last year when summer was so intense that they had to buy table fans in the office because the AC wouldn't suffice. Sadly, summer this year was neither that good, nor that long - it started late, and has already gone by in a flash, and autumn is knocking on the doors. Leaves, golden brown, are falling off the trees and making the town look like a Mohabbatein set. These two weeks are all they last, and then the trees will be bare, until Christmas and after.