Up early again; it seems only yesterday I rose at 5 am to find full daylight at the summer solstice down here, now we are only a few days off the equinox and it's not light yet at 5:30. The rythm of the seasons is not as marked here in 30-degrees S as I remember in Scotland long ago. In Shetland, latitude 62° N, I recall nights in May when it was still quite light at midnight. I did test that, by reading a book at the window of my lodgings at midnight! The converse was the tedium of long, dark evenings in winter, with the wind howling under the door.
Working for a full year in London gave me a new view of changing seasons, from travelling on crowded trains from south London to Victoria in the pre-dawn darkness, and likewise home again at 5:30 in darkness. In June the days seemed to last forever, there was time to play tennis or go for long walks after supper. I got to know the streets around Stretham Hill, Norwood (?) and Wimbledon Common very well! There was a quaint old-fashioned pub near the Common, with a memorable name which now escapes me --
The Hand in Hand? -- where I often stopped off for bread and cheese and pickles, and a glass of real ale from the cask. On many subsequent visits i found that the pubs were pursuing a different clientelle, with pinball machines, and loud music. I was lucky to stay with an old school friend in Wallingford; he knew many of the small traditional pubs around rural Oxfordshire, and much else of interest besides.
Happy memories.
