Holidays

Back from holiday and feeling quite chilled.
Flew to the one of the Canary Islands and relaxed for two weeks in the sunshine. Perfect weather, just like our summers used to be when I was a child.
Odd really, I always remember the wonderful summers and the spectacular winters.
As kids, we would be taken for our annual caravan holiday at the seaside. We spent every day in swimsuits and shorts. The sun shone. The blackberries ripened early and we would be sent out with pyrex bowls to pick the luscious fruit for tea. In the small town close by the pavements melted in the blistering heat. We jumped waves that seemed to tower above us, huge watery fists that lifted us off our feet. It's a wonder we didn't drown.
The winters were cold - just as they should be. I remember making an igloo with my brother after one especially heavy, late snowfall. We chiselled blocks of compacted snow and even made ice furniture. I might be wrong, but I seem to think it was quite late - around April I think. At any rate my mum grumbled that it would still be there in June at the rate it was going.
Even then, without central heating, we were lucky. We had a range in the kitchen and a gas fire in the front room, as well as a portable electric heater that, even used sparingly, took the chill off the bedroom.
What must it have been like in the times before electricity?
The dark, cold night, chilblains, open fires that needed raking and setting daily.
As for flying to exotic destinations...forget it.