A weekend of UVA and UVB

It's been hot. Very hot yesterday but just very warm today. Yesterday was Candle Day for Amnesty International. I collected outside Centrepoint for a bit over an hour. I didn't do very well. For a Saturday just before Christmas I was surprised how light the crowds were. The sun crept up on me - my intially shady spot was in full sun after a while and was too slow to get the sunblock on. After that I was rostered on the Amnesty stall at Salamanca Market.

Standing in one spot for two hours in a great opportunity for people-watching and I started musing about consumer fashion. Who decided blokes' t-shirts now have to be illegible? They have to look as though they are trying to say something, but some kind of technical error at the t-shirt factory has occurred. The one legible word will be "Volcom" or "Stüssy" or whatever the brand is, but it will be printed so it is under the armpit, or over the collar, or something.

Girls' t-shirts have to a) be two sizes too small and b) pretend to be old. They will have something like "Pelican Bay Canoe Club '76" on them, with pretend cracks in the printing, in pretend faded colours. Who decides on these idiotic trends?

Copped more sun at the market, but the stall behind us had a big awning I was able to duck under from time to time. A family I know stopped to chat - their 14 year old is six foot two. Last time I saw him he was a normal sized 11-year-old. It was quite a shock.

When I got home we all had a snooze, then went down to the beach. It was 33° at one stage, and the beach was still well populated at 5.30. The water just seems not to warm up though. The surf was flat, so it was a lot like sitting in an ice bath, ie no fun at all.

Today our new Kingston Buddies, Greg and his boys Mason and Dylan came over. Elf pumped up and filled the pool, plugged the leaks and erected the shadehouse over it. What did I do? Hmm, I think I cut up a watermelon. Everyone had fun, we all caught a bit too much sun again, and Marcus and Mason got along very well.

This afternoon I sat in the shade and read an Alexander McCall Smith book while everyone snoozed. I have read about six of his books and this is the first one that's been a bit of a let-down. Pleasant enough, but that's all.