By Isle of Wight Observer
The hot weather is affecting every part of our lives, even the fabulous County Show. If you didn’t bother going last weekend, you missed a treat. Alongside fabulous farm animals, there were giant tortoises, exotic snakes, and even camels, one humped and two. As always, I wandered around meeting friends, and the only topic of conversation was the heat. Let’s face it, it’s gone on for months, and that’s far too long.
On Friday, I’d popped to the bank in Newport and seen dozens of kids wandering around. I asked one group why they were there. “It’s too hot for school,” they replied. “We’ve been sent home every day this week at midday.” The Met Office forecast a high of 29°C (84F) last Friday, and it may have reached more than that in town. But while kids here were hanging around idly, my London-based grandchildren were still at school. As we all know, London usually has higher temperatures than the Island – 35°C (95F) last Friday.
Still, it was business as usual up there; no school closures.
So why did Island schools give up so easily, and what does that teach our kids about adult life and resilience? Surely it teaches them that when the going gets tough, you should throw in the towel. Most kids break up today, and some will head to France, Spain or Greece for summer holidays. Should parents cancel because it’s hot abroad? Of course not. Closing Island schools when we get a light dusting of snow is silly, and now this.
Regrettably, our KS results are truly awful compared with the rest of the UK. Island kids can’t afford time off, but apparently some primary schools were closed too. Working parents were forced to make alternative arrangements at short notice. I’ll wager none of the children sent home found air conditioning there. Every house I’ve been in during the heatwave was hot. Our homes have much smaller rooms than classrooms and school buildings. I also heard that Island schools wouldn’t relax their uniform policy, insisting blazers and ties must be worn. Honestly, you wouldn’t treat sheep like that.
In advance of the County Show, farmers were busy preparing their animals. Our local farming community is justifiably proud of its livestock and loves showing them off. Having shaken my head at school closures, I noticed people online complaining about the heat and its impact on the animals at the County Show. Naturally, the keyboard warriors had a view. The daftest mentioned those visiting camels, and I assumed this must be a joke. Obviously, no-one ever jokes about animal welfare. So, I did a little research and learned that camels can tolerate extremes of weather, from a freezing minus 40°C to a scorching 55°C. On that basis, I felt certain they could handle a field in Northwood, as could farm animals. As far as I could see, even the snakes seemed perfectly content.
The County Show is partly educational, so I hope as many kids as possible went and learned something. Thanks to an incomprehensible government policy, we’re now producing just 60 per cent of the food we eat. Subsidies are focused entirely on environmental schemes. Paying our farmers not to grow food seems just as bonkers as telling kids not to bother with school when it’s hot. The evident change in our weather has raised the cost of food worldwide. Surely it makes sense to pay British farmers to produce food rather than import it from overseas?
If this hotter weather is a permanent feature of British summers, we must equip our schools with air conditioning. And maybe farmers could grow more exotic food? I’ve had a good early crop of strawberries. At this rate, I might try pineapples or bananas next year.