We're all melting just a little in the UK. It may mean nothing to others when it hits 29C (84F), but in the UK that's a heatwave. Tomorrow is said to be even hotter at 31C (88F), which means we'll definitely melt. Air conditioning isn't widespread here. We don't have any, so it's a case of keep the windows shut, the curtains drawn, and put the fan on (if you got one.) My fan is cooling my PC right this minute lol. It's kinda cooling me too, but not a lot. I keep nipping outside now that night has settled and things have cooled down a little.

I tried to sit in the sun, but alas, my mad neighbors decided to do gardening today. Lawnmowers, screaming kids and people roaming around all over the place (it's a communal garden) doesn't go well with writing. So I gave up and went back inside. It was cooler inside anyway.

Yeah, I could have driven to the coast, but that would mean sitting in traffic, since everyone else has the same idea.

Still, it could be worse. I remember the heatwave in 2003, mainly because on the hottest ever recorded day, I was stuck inside a wooden building, with no air conditioning — and 30 computers in a room. You want hot? Trust me, it felt like I sat in an oven.
It was 38C outside (100F), but inside… well. Do you have any idea how much heat 30 computers pump out? We didn't measure it, but I guarantee it was close to 45C if not hotter, in that room. I practically stood in my own sweat.
You'd think they'd let us go home, considering the risk of heat stroke and stuff, but no. "It's not that bad."
Well, yeah. Not that bad for the boss, who sat in an air conditioned office!

If the temperature gets as high as that again, on a weekday, I think my boss is going to shut the doors at some point. Especially since we're sitting inside a great big tin can.

If I ever have enough money to buy a new house — it'll have air conditioning. Sod this heat for a lark, seriously.

There has been a report about nine month old twins being attacked in their cribs by a fox.

I heard about it, read a few news articles about it. Most people did, I'm sure. Now a lot of those very people call for a cull on foxes.

Reading those articles, and the accounts by the mother, I got to thinking. (Never a good thing.)
Allegedly the fox came in through open patio doors, attracted by food smells, then went up the stairs, into the twins bedroom, jumped into the cots and mauled them. When the parents came in, it took several attempts to frighten the fox away.

I have a very hard time believing that's what happened.
For one thing, why would a wild animal bypass the kitchen and go upstairs, if it was attracted into the house by the food smell?
What's more, foxes aren't exactly the bravest animals on the planet. They are timid, shy and if you encounter them, they generally run before you get close.
So why would a fox go upstairs in a house that smells of humans, when the stuff it came in for is in the downstairs kitchen?
And then there is the report that it took several attempts to frighten the animal away. I have an even harder time believing that. Make a move toward a fox and it will run.

I'm sorry for the hurt babies, it shouldn't have happened to them, no matter what did it. I just have trouble believing it was a fox, because the facts just make no sense.

Tags: Foxes