Enjoying the summer...

We have been enjoying the summer here in Oxford a lot. I could get used to this charming, light summer.  I must confess I hardly missed the long oppressive Indian summer with its relentless scorching sun and soaring temperatures. And thanks to global warming summers are getting worse in India. Anyways to get back to the summer in Oxford, it is really pleasant and we have had sunshine and clear skies, also the occasional rains to bring down the temperature. The days are really long and sunlight till 9 in the evening makes the evenings really enjoyable. Also sunset from our windows is a real treat to watch. Sunset in India that is in the tropics is a real quick affair, but here it is slow and lingering and I love the way the sky changes colours from orange to varying shades of pink before finally getting dark.

The town looks really pretty with flower pots everywhere and people dressed in casual, colourful clothes. Pubs and cafes all have tables outside in the pavements and it looks really festive.A lot of tourist everywhere.  And I am  in love with long refreshing glass of Pimms.

One thing that I did miss was the mangoes. Mangoes here are no match for those back home, neither can you find even one percent of the sheer variety that Indian markets have. Indian summers are synonymous with mangoes and they start flooding the markets from March and are available till September.  As the summer progresses varieties keep changing. So by the end of summer Indians eat so many mangoes that they are happy to give it up till next summer. My parents were saying that this has been a year of plentiful mangoes and they have been enjoying all the different varieties. We tried a few shriveled up mangoes from the Indian groceries and then some dried one, just to be disappointed.

Though my husband is busy as ever, we still managed to spend some time out and explore Oxford and around. Also our rate of socialization has definitely increased, which is great. Lets enjoy whatever is left of summer and soak up all the sun before the long dreary winter sets in.

Belated Blogger Action Day

I found out from Oxfam blog that yesterday they were celebrating Blogger Action Day to raise awareness against climate change. I was pretty excited and wanted to write something and be part of this initiative. But wanting to do something and actually doing it has a lot of muggy waters in between. I did the cursory google search and read some really blood curling articles. Climate change and global warming are no longer distant threats which we can pretend to ignore, they are here and very much happening.

For once I am at a loss for words and don't really know what to say. The issue is so complicated and there are so many complex layers and powerful players...I feel quiet ignorant to say anything at all. Except that as a citizen of this earth I am deeply worried and promise to use the resources much more carefully like water, electricity, petroleum etc. I wish our leaders also took this seriously and stopped just giving politically correct speeches and actually took some concrete steps to hinder climate change and global warming!