The recent warm weather spell we have enjoyed fairly played havoc with my senses – and that from a non-hay fever sufferer.
It seemed every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, whilst I walked my dog Rumba, it was a fine line between mouth-watering BBQs and thick smoke from those more novice wannabe chefs.
It really must be a form of animal cruelty, as everyone knows guide dogs don’t get tit-bits, but if the smell irritates me then what does it do to her with her K9 enhanced sense of smell and her Labrador food instincts which tell her her belly is always empty!
Now if this assault on the sense of smell is not bad enough, the warm weather has also brought an increase in buskers – or to be more accurate bad buskers assaulting our hearing, If I hear Wonder Wall being played one more time in one key, and with the same limited range of chords I won’t just look back in anger, I’ll be Mr Angry.
Even worse than the lack of musical prowess, is the fact that buskers always insist in playing outside shopping centres or beside pelican crossings.
Blocking the streets can be extremely dangerous for me as, even with the aid of my trusty guide dog, I still rely on my hearing to navigate as much as possible.
I don’t want to sound like I hate summer – I enjoy feeling the sun on my back as much as anyone, and Rumba enjoys snoozing in the sunshine.
However, if you see me smiling inwardly on sunny days as I realise that there can sometimes be an advantage to not seeing. I’m sorry, but whilst it is nice to take off some of our layers when we feel the sun shining, I understand from sighted friends, there are some who just shouldn’t be showing off their Scottish bodies.
I am not jealous to be missing the sight of peely wally flesh, in outfits much more suited to the bar or the beach than the town centre.
When people of a nervous disposition could be exposed to this horror, the lack of self-awareness to the distress they cause others by flaunting the flesh is frightening!
I promise to keep myself respectably dressed over the summer – but I can’t make the same promise of Rumba, who enjoys nothing more than a naked stroll on a warm day.
