It's a bit on the warm side in the UK

It seems a trifle strange to be sitting in Bangkok and reading about a heatwave in London, but at times last week it's been hotter in Britain than Thailand, while the rest of Europe has also been sizzling. You know something is wrong when at Wimbledon the umbrellas have been going up not for the rain but to protect spectators from the sun.

- Roger Crutchley

The best way to handle extreme heat is probably to do as little as possible, something I have just about got the hang of in Bangkok. It helps being in an inactive post.

The English newspapers came up with dire forecasts. "Britain will bake," warned the Daily Express while the Daily Mail informed us "Heat bomb explodes in Europe". The Evening Standard went for "London swelters" and citizens were reported to be struggling coming to terms with London being warmer than the Caribbean. At least the headlines made a change from the standard "Phew! What a Scorcher" which the English tabloids used to come up with for such weather.

One suspects it won't be long before the brollies will be action again for their traditional function as the rain returns. In fact the English are more comfortable with rain. England is not called “The Land of Rain Stopped Play” for nothing.

Cats and dogs

There is nothing wrong with a bit of precipitation. According to the great authority on English weather, Paddington Bear, Londoners have 107 different ways of saying “It's raining” with perhaps the most evocative expression being “It’s raining cats and dogs”. No one seems to know where that expression originated from so I'll leave that to your imagination.