Hot & Heavy

I took the day off yesterday to bathe in the glory of the most humid and warm day of the year.

After enjoying an extended lie-in, I stuffed my backpack with a book, some lunch, a few cold beers and also a spare t-shirt in case I became the victim of the dreaded backpack sweat which was entirely possible on such a day. So off I went to meet Brian at Cutters Wharf.

Although it was only 11am it was already 20-odd degrees and even after walking 1/2 mile it really took some getting used to. From Cutters Wharf, we made our way along the towpath towards Shaw's Bridge. It was a quiet walk as I imagine most people were in work and we barely met a soul until we reached our destination. However, I made the unfortunate decision to wear sandals for the trek and had gathered two huge blisters on each foot as my punishment. Temporary reprieve came by dangling my legs into the Lagan river as owners with dogs threw sticks for them to collect with one owner joining his pet in the river itself much to the concern of his partner and the cleanliness of the river.


After cooling off a little we lay down a blanket and chilled out for a while. I swopped ordinary lenses for shades and read while Brian stretched out and dozed. A few others had the same idea and we dotted the landscape along the banks of the river.
We played a few games of cards and had lunch over a cold beer before walking under the bridge and up towards Malone House and onto Malone Road for a bus into town as my feet couldn't take any more punishment in the form of walking back.


On arriving back to the house I stripped off as many clothes as decency would allow and opened another beer in a conceited effort to remain cool. After dinner Lou and I settled down to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest. I found the film to be completely lackluster, devoid of any humour, plot or charm of the first film and after an hour I switched it off. My advice is to avoid this film like scurvy.

We decided to watch a new American show called Eureka which concerns a small town with big secrets. The U.S. government has been relocating the world’s geniuses and their families to this rustic town for years to experiment freely without the confines of societies prying eyes. However U.S. Marshall Jack Carter stumbles upon this odd town after wrecking his car and becoming stranded there. When some ultra events start unfolding, Carter jumps in to try to restore order and consequently learns of one of the country’s best kept secrets. I thought it was an excellent first episode and highly recommend checking it out.

As for today, I had hoped that yesterdays thunder and lightning would have broken up the humidity and closeness of the air but it seems to have reverted back to yesterday minus a few degrees. The only consolation is that the weekend is fast appraoching and I hope it stays warm as we are heading out for a boat excursion on Saturday down in Bangor. Hope you're all enjoying the good weather and let me know how you're coping. See you all tomorrow!