Al Fresco Revision

I think I can finally say that summer is here without the risk of the sun running back behind the clouds to give us another unexpected cold spurt. I love summer: the sounds, smells, warmth, and the colours. There’s nothing better than walking down the road, sun shining, birds singing and the smell of fresh cut grass in the air. Cool summer evenings are lovely and I could sit on the grass under the dappled shade of a tree for ages.

I’m on study leave at the moment and that means I can go outside to revise rather than being cooped up in a stuffy classroom all day. However, the big problem with al fresco revision is sun burn. I burn pretty easily meaning I have to either slap on layer after layer of sun cream or stay in the shade. Generally, I go for the shade option as, not only does it reduce the likelihood of burning but it’s also that little bit cooler. Nevertheless, this method has a major flaw: the movement of the earth. Yes, I have a bone to pick with the whole spinning thing that the earth does. When it moves, so does the position of whatever piece of shade I’m using. I’ll start out in a perfectly positioned piece of shade, revision notes spread out carefully on the rug I’m using to stop me getting a terrible itchy rash from the grass, shade the perfect mix of shadiness and dappled light; but then, half way through my revision, I realise that the shade has moved and one of my arms is burning in the sun. This then leads to me grabbing the corners of my rug and dragging all my stuff into another patch of shade and rearranging my revision before starting the whole process again. This inadvertently ends up with me constantly moving around the garden and being able to do a good impression of a barber’s pole by the end of the day.

The other issue is the bugs. It’s not that I have entomophobia or anything. For example, an ant somehow found its way onto my desk in my maths exam this afternoon and I was quite happy to let it stay there and (if possible) offer assistance. (Unfortunately, the ant wasn’t particularly good at maths. I think its strong subject was more PE as it was unable to stay still... or maybe gymnastics...) My issue with bugs and insects during al fresco revision is that they have a tendency to accidentally get in the way and get squished. On Saturday I was revising maths outside and a caterpillar found its way between the pages of the mock paper I was going through and deposited its insides all over the pages. I may not have any sort of insect phobia but that does not mean I appreciate their insides being spread over my work.

However, I’m being very English in this blog. I start off saying how much I love summer and somehow manage to turn the blog around so I’m talking about pretty much my only moans about summer and the great outdoors. So I’m going to end this on a positive note; I’m going to think about sunny days on the beach, Friday evenings down the park with the kids in youth club, collecting worms under the trampoline aged 3 or 4 and water fights. Oh, and an awesome ALL CAPS song that I just can’t get out of my head.....

DFTBA, Terrie, I have not forgotten...