Summer's Peak

AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY

The last of the year's bank holidays comes with mixed feelings. Easter felt like a moment ago and now we're already at the end of August. The time is going so fast and life is feeling so short. It's been a good year so far and the summer has been fun, yet, the bank holiday in August always feels to me like a desperate attempt to capture the last of good times before the nights draw in. It's actually still the peak of summer and we have plenty of time before autumn sets in again, so we should keep the keep the spirits high without going too hard with the party action.

I always seek to find alternative ways of doing the August long weekend, in some ways to avoid the madness and make it last but also to break the chain of waking half dead on a Tuesday. The options are always the same. Get away or stay in town. The roads, airports, trains are full, expensive and stressful places to be. The destinations are often awash with the die hard family fun seekers - their quest to keep the kids entertained at all costs, or the city escapees - avoiding being caught up in the inner-city endurance test that will be the Notting Hill Carnival or one of the many other festivals going on around the cities and towns.

I'm sure one day, I'll manage a stroll in the park, a read of a book by a brook or a quiet potter in the garden. Hopefully, if I get another 20-30+ summers, this kind of activity will be enjoyed in the last 10 years. For now, it's a mix of clearing some chores off the to do list, grabbing some me-time to read, write, play music and juggle friends, partying and fitting in some rest - so not to feel so rotten come Tuesday.