Sun Power

Summer seems to have arrived -

Air con has been active in the car and it is soooo good to have a car with a functioning air con again. I'd forgotten that fixing the air con was another possibly expensive thing that needed repairing on my Focus.

Summer also means the cricket season is just around the corner. I'm hoping to play a fair bit this summer, although I still need to properly initiate Pink Hat Project instead of just talking about it. I reckon this summer will be very hot, very dry. Pretty good weather for cricket, as long as the groundsmen are allowed to water the wickets to stop them cracking up. Not so good weather for me because I suffer in the heat. I suffer in the cold too but at least you can wrap up more.

What am I saying ! Roll on summer. Cricket to watch and summer dresses to keep an eye out for.

Here's a couple of pictures to show the power of the sun :

That's the same hat. Topside and bottom side. I think I used this hat from maybe :

1993 - last year at school, bought it after leaving my old white hat in a golf bag after playing golf in rain. Hence being forced into buying a new hat. The old one didn't appreciate being left in the golf bag for a few weeks. Oops ! (My sister found it after it had been bleached and still uses it !)

It would have started out life like this Gray Nicolls Navy Blue hat.

2003 - when my nose got broke. Yes, those are blood stains and that is definitely salt from sweat. I haven't washed it and don't intend to - the blood stains are a reminder that I'm not immortal. I could have been hurt much worse than I was in that incident.

That's not the point though - look at how much it's got sun bleached ! And that's with me just playing occasional evening cricket, instead of all day over weekends.

2003 is the last time I wore that hat. I think I escaped long term psychological stuff (outside the amnesia) from being hit in the face by the cricket ball but I did feel compelled to replace all of my cricket gear. Some of that was forced (my pads ended up in a different kit bag), some of it was an unforced compulsion. I could have kept using that hat but not with the bloodstains.

One thing that did change - when I got hit the first time, my technique was perfect. I watched the ball all the way ... up to where my glasses stopped it coming into my right eye. That's why I want the Not Immortal reminder, it could have been a far worse result. When I got hit the second time, I turned my head away and it caught the helmet on the right hand side of the grille.

Last thought - at some point I need to do some modelling of that Pink Hat.