3rd July 2015 Heat is always relative.

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Friday 3rd 72-82F, 22-28C,  breezy, sunny but with lots of thin cloud. Expected to be warm again.

I was just reading the Danish TV news website. They perform much the same duties as the BBC in providing millionaire celebs, for tabloid consumption, at license payer's vast expense. The Danish licence costs almost twice that of the UK while more and more Danes stream their entertainment. Or would, if only they could have a high speed Internet to watch the miserably small selection on offer from Netflix.

Anyway, the new Danish government, only days after the election, is already talking about relaxing or slashing environmental controls on farmers. They [the farmers not the trough dwellers in government] will be allowed to plough [and spray] right up to water courses instead of leaving them as wildlife corridors and vital protection for the water course. Ammonia release from the massive annual pig shit spraying will be a free-for-all instead of facing a steady reduction.  Ammonia will continue to cause health problems for the few surviving rural dwellers.

All this at a time of rural, home sale stagnation and the rapid loss of amenities like schools, shops and services. All this, when Denmark does not attract the visitors and holiday makers they ought in comparison with many other countries. All this, when countless farmers are close to bankruptcy with un-repayable debts and the serious risk of causing more bank collapses. All this when the vast majority of Danish pork products contain dangerous, antibiotic resistant, bacteria. All this when the deliberate mistreatment of pigs in small cages is rife. All this when Danish pigs are driven for hundreds of miles packed in lorries to Germany to be slaughtered. All because Danish wages in slaughter houses were too high, so that they were all closed down. All this, when antibiotic use in the pig farms is climbing though the roof.

Lighthouse keeper's cottage.

Walked a loop by road and track. The wind turbines were all still. Oppressively warm and I returned feeling dizzy and deaf. Tried warmed olive oil in each ear to melt any ear wax while I lay down for 10 minutes on each side. No discernible effect. Gargling with warm, salty water helped slightly.

Left mid afternoon for a short ride. Hot, bright and light winds. Only 8 miles.

Saturday 4th 75-82F, 24-28C, bright, warm, a light breeze and almost still at times.  Probably going to be even hotter today. 27-32C forecast with UV close to 7! No walk but the trike is already stripped down to its Junior sans rack again. I had better remember my water bottle! Thanks to the lack of wind and despite the heat it was a fairly effortless 28 miles today. I spent quite a lot of time climbing out of the saddle. The heatwave will probably be broken by thunder storms later. [It wasn't because there were none!]

Sunday 5th 80-85F, 27-29.5C, bright, almost still. I went for a walk to find some coolth in the shade beneath some trees. A short lived pleasure because of the traffic and fitful breeze. Early plans for a longer ride, in pleasantly light winds, were curtailed because of the oppressive heat. I'm still going out but with much more limited ambitions.

Did a tour of Sunday flea markets looking for something quite commonplace, but without any luck. Very hot and winds very light but not interested in drinking luke warm water from my bottle. Was cruising at 21mph for some miles along a main road to get out of the traffic as soon as possible. Detoured down to the coast for 22 miles total. Still doing lots of climbing out of the saddle despite being bunged up with whatever allergy I have at the moment. Artemesia? Going out again after lunch. Plus ten more miles. It started to spit with rain on the way home and the outside temperature is already 10 degrees cooler than this afternoon's peak of 85F. Five minutes after arriving home it is raining hard. The rain didn't last but we were treated to a spectacular lightning show during the late evening. Long streaks of lightning were jumping horizontally through the grey sky as well as vertically. Fortunately there wasn't much thunder to keep us awake and the storm seemed to be moving easterly.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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