Good Old British Summer
I know Cher wanted to turn back time but if I could stop for a while, it would be in the summer - and not the summer of a foreign holiday on a faraway beach - it would be our summer, our good old British summer! I love them. Even the trepidation of weather watching, checking every report we can in the hope one of them is going to give us the right answer and when that jet stream arrives in from the North we are so grateful for it, we sing its praises and enter a phase of amnesia, forgetting all the bad day, leaving the cushions out to await their fate in the rain which will inevitably come. I love the relaxation and freedom warm weather blows into our lives, the clothes we wear, the food we eat and the longer days. Every ancient religion, including our own, has worshiped the sun. They saw in it all that was essential to their life and wellbeing. The Greeks had Helios, Egyptian’s Ra, Romans Sol Invictus, the Anglo-Saxons the Goddess Sunna and the Aztecs Tonatiuh (Sadly they took worshiping their sun Goddess all a bit too far performing human sacrifices to keep her happy, she never asked for it but off they went killing thousands in her name!) Nowadays we have a more educated approach to ‘worshiping’ our lovely ball of gold in the sky and I for one can’t resist a responsible bask in her rays (yes, she’s a girl), I think of the sun as a free vitamin D bath. I’ve lived long enough to know my fair skin well and because it has a low resistance to harmful rays it soaks in natural vitamin D 5 -10 times quicker than those with darker skin, so an early morning UK sun bath is all I need to top me up with this essential vitamin. Wearing the least amount of clothes appropriate to your location (but don’t forget the SPF!), you can do this on a balcony, park, patio, or back garden while sitting on a blanket having a think, listening to music or reading a book, knowing you are officially multitasking. You could of course take it a step further and include a breakfast open sandwich of fresh salmon which will give you more Vitamin D together with B12 and omega 3 fatty acids. Now you’re really rocking and ready to take on the challenges of the day all topped up in the most natural way possible.
Happy basking!