“Here comes the sun and I say, it’s alright” ~ The Beatles
Or, as defined by my dictionary
Sun (n): the star that is the source of heat and light for the planets in the solar system
It’s been a long time coming this year, hasn’t it? That big ol’fiery yellow orb in the sky; that gas-filled ball; that bringer of warmth and shadows.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so acutely aware of the lack of sun and its effect as I have been this year. As March trundled through coldly into a drizzly April and so many of us (even some in Yorkshire!) couldn’t bear to turn the heating off even I, not usually susceptible to suffering from SAD, was longing to feel warm again. The proper sense of warmth you get from stepping outside and feeling the sun warm your skin as, whilst nice, sitting by a warm radiator just is not the same.
Inconsiderately, the sun decide to stage a comeback and make the warmest day since September on the day of the London Marathon. I was volunteering at the 19.5 mile point and had several runners stop by me to find some shade. They were not much out of breath and no serious cramps had kicked in but having trained during the cold wet months of a very long winter, they were just unused to running in hot conditions.
From a spectator point of view the sunny weather did make it more enjoyable to line the route and cheer people on. From a volunteer point of view I got sunburnt! My own fault and not a mistake I am prone to making as nature made me fair of skin and red of hair. But, for all that, feeling the sun made a difference. A whole hit of Vitamin D and warmth that lifted me and has sustained me for quite some time.
It was clear later that day that I wasn’t the only one who had been craving the return of the sun. My local park was full to bursting with people having picnics, playing games, just relishing the opportunity to be outside without the need for several layers including hat, gloves and probably a brolly too!
It’s the Sunday of a Bank Holiday as I write this and the sun is currently shining. Yesterday it rained. In fact, it tipped it down to the extent we even had hailstones! You could almost hear the cries of despair from people who had hoped for once that the forecasters might be right and we were due a sunny weekend. The economy is perilous, the local election results disturbing, the news headlines enough to cause many a sleepless night; so please let us at least have some sun!
So I hope the sun is shining where you are even if you aren’t a fan of it in general, as I know some aren’t. Don’t underestimate the importance of it for life, for our environment, for our well-being; get out in it and let your body soak it up.
Princess
Princess of VP Blog 