Well l don't know about you, but l've had more cool showers in this heat of the past few weeks than the rest of my life put together . We are getting a wet season this year . The mornings are a false promoise of a clear sunny day , by lunch time its clouding over and you have a facebook feed of severe storm warnings and usually about three the light show begins with just enough of a downpour to make the grass grow fast enough for twice weekly mowing !
l know this makes me sound old ...but l don't remember feeling the heat when l was a kid and yes maybe l don't remember because it was a wee while ago! Mind you, l wasn't fat then either and since adipose tissue provides great blubber for warmth , that may be why us plus sizes feel the heat more. We didn't wear ployester or nylon clothes much though either , usually clothes that were made from cotton. In the Malley we mostly lived from the tank; so wasting water was a No No, but if it got a bit hot you were allowed to don your kinnies and go under the sprinkler with the dog and your pet duck so they would cool down at the same time . Of course, if it did reach heat wave status then as an extra special treat you were allowed to emerse yourself in a 44 gallon drum as long as you gave it a squirt out first to chase the spiders away... . Dad would take me swimning in the irrigation chanel in the late afternoons which was where l learned to swim.
On occassion, a very very rare occassion Mum and l would drive the ten miles into town and go to the "swimming bathes " as Mum would call the pool and we would wear our " swimming costumes " as Mum always said this or " bathers"..never "togs" .If you think her language was old fashion. you should have got an eyefull of her "togs"!. lm pretty sure they were the same fashion in the 1956 Olympics( we're talking 70s by now ). Mum was of
a small and holy woman and she had left the Convent to marry in the forties...Although, l never dared ask, l was fairly sure they must have been her Nun's togs!!. It was embarrassing enough , having a mother with togs from the "roaring 20s" but as she couldn't swim , l was only allowed in the " little pool " with kids half my size.. I will never forget those togs though, they were navy one piece with extra material across the front of the legs about 2 inches down from the crotch , to hide it l would imagine ! . Understandably, l didn't press her to take me swimming too often .Thank God we never went to the beach with all those extra bits of material in Ma's togs getting the sand out would have needed an excavatiion
As a child, l had never heard of airconditioning !We did however have a big arse air cooler that you had to position near a open window so the overflow water could go out . You also had to put water in the bloody thing as well . Dragging buckets of water to pour into the appropriate receptical was a quiet a chore and this machine was as noisy as all hell when it got going !. The cooler lived in the lounge room facing Dad whilst he was watching the cricket!. Mum was thin and must not have felt the heat much as she always wore the full complement of clothing including a "frock" . a half slip underneath , stocking and suspenders, undies you could easily use as a ships sail and a nicely ironed apron ( no doubt left over from her war years nursing uniform which also included a starched apron. God rest her soul) xx. So we had long given up trying to keep mother cool ! So if you needed a repreave from the heat it looked something like this...sitting in the lounge with Dad , ciggarette smoke and all , pretending to like the cricket and have some clue what "silly mid offs " were " tolerating the deafening volume of the TV to get over the roar of the load hum of the air cooler, while at the same listening to Dad recount his days of playing cricket for the Christian brothers with great accolades of what a fantastis coach brother so and so was who taught them how to spit and polish the ball when they were bowling ..without being seen !! .it was much less effort to just play under the tank stand with the dog and the duck and almost as cool and healthier for my lungs and ears!!
And l know that this an oldie but a goodie ..which we all know but probably seldom do...but in this heat ...drink heaps.... l have been and my fatigue has been reduced. What's working for me is having a jug of water beside the bed at night. Also, l have downloaded a " "drink more water" app that results in " toilet flushing bubbly " noises emitting from my phone on the hour to prompt me to drink. Unfotunately, this prompts me to pee as well as drink so believe me l have to gussel a powerful lot of water to stay hydrated !!
Thanks so much for taking a wander down memory lane with me today xx
