Apologies for my silence.

[pbpersson]

They are saying in the news that both the United States and Great Britain are experiencing a record heat wave.

It's global warming, I tell you! It's all these evil automobiles with their pollution and they will kill us yet!

The answer is we should all strap on our kilts and walk to work!

Aye laddies, the kilt is the answer to all our problems!

Well....a few of them at least. I know I'm getting much more exercise since buying mine because now I find excuses to go out for a walk.

[highlandcelt]

Hey Ham. I saw this on my web browser. Hope you get some relief soon. It's been really hot here also. Close to 100 f.
Ill-Equipped Britain Hit by Heat Wave
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 11:53 AM EDT
The Associated Press
By LAURA-CLAIRE CORSON

LONDON (AP) — Judges removed their wigs inside the courts. Guards at Buckingham Palace were allowed to stand in the shade. Some workers wore shorts to the office. Britain was facing one of its hottest days on record Wednesday — so hot the pavement melted on the roadways.

Other parts of Europe sizzled, too, but this is a country particularly ill-equipped for its infrequent brushes with sweltering temperatures.

The mid-afternoon temperature at Heathrow Airport was 95.5 degrees. The record is 101 degrees in Faversham, Kent, on Aug. 10, 2003.

The temperature south of London hit 96.6 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Britain in July.

Zookeepers at the Colchester Zoo gave lions blocks of ice flavored with blood. Monkeys got blocks containing fruit.

Construction workers in northwest England dumped crushed rock on highways because the liquefying pavement was sticking to vehicles, Cumbria's county council said.

London's Underground has no air conditioning and the Evening Standard newspaper measured temperatures in the train system at 117 degrees. Operator Transport for London takes no temperature measurements but did not dispute the figure.

"I don't even want to talk about it," said Jean Thurgood of east London, fanning herself frantically during her early morning commute on a stuffy bus. "It feels like the hottest day of the century."

Across Europe, officials warned citizens to stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water.

French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said nine people who died recently may have been victims of soaring temperatures. President Jacques Chirac urged people to be cautious.

The hot weather — up to 97 degrees in Paris on Wednesday — recalled the record-breaking 2003 heat wave that left 15,000 people in France dead of dehydration and other problems. Many were elderly and were in some cases left alone while families vacationed.

Since then, France's government has adopted measures to avoid a repeat of the disaster. Bertrand and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin visited a retirement home Wednesday to check on the prevention plan.

This week's victims of the heat in France likely included two people in their 80s who died Tuesday in the Bordeaux region, and a 53-year-old construction worker who collapsed in the central city of Macon. In Spain, two people died during a heat wave that has seen temperatures climb above 104 degrees.

Germans flocked to swimming pools, lakes and forests, searching for relief. In Belgium, temperatures were predicted to hit 99 degrees.

In The Netherlands, the Nijmegen 4-Day March, billed as the world's largest walking festival, was canceled after two participants died in the extreme heat. Some 300 participants became ill Tuesday in temperatures close to 95 degrees and 30 were hospitalized.

Britons sought relief indoors, many to no avail.

"There's no air conditioning anywhere, it seems," said 24-year-old Australian Mark Jones. "In Australia, we're used to this, but here, a lot of people don't even have fans."

There was little London officials could do besides tell people to carry a bottle of water.

Andrei Danilov, 32, dutifully cradled mineral water on a central London bus.

"It gets worse and worse every year," he said. "I can't stand it."

At the historic Royal Courts of Justice, judges were allowed to remove their traditional wigs. One of Britain's largest labor organizations, the Trades Union Congress, urged people to wear shorts to work.

The two-hour shifts of the famed royal guards, who stand outside Buckingham Palace in foot-tall black bearskin hats, bright red tunics and white gloves, were halved at the beginning of the week in preparation for the heat, said the London headquarters spokesman, Col. David Sievwright. Decreasing shift times is rare, he said.

The heat failed to dash one of Queen Elizabeth II's annual garden parties. Nearly 8,000 people lined up to enter Buckingham Palace.

"Oh my gosh, it's so hot," said Sonia Read, as she flapped her fan. "I have never seen anything like this."

[Blu (Ontario)]

... It's global warming, I tell you! It's all these evil automobiles with their pollution and they will kill us yet!...

Naaahhhh.... but Canada May become the new Florida as the south bakes.

When I built my PC, I put extra case fans in it plus a good CPU heat sink. Dust can really clog up the veins on the heat sink and needs to be removed periodically. Water cooling kilts are now readilly available.. may try thet next re-build.

More critical though... does the high heat and humidity cause your pleats to wilt!?

.

[ozmeath]

You are forgiven Hamish. look after yourself. My favourite drinks in hot weather are Vodka, fresh lime and tonic, and Moroccan tea: Black tea poured over a sprig of mint w/ two sugars. May they console you sans console.
I just survived a typical Ozzie summer with tops of 47 celcius, that's 117 F. folks! Aircon all the way to the beach. I've seen eggs fry on rocks out west, a bit gritty to eat but theatrical (or depressing if you can't escape it!).
Erin.

[Martyn]

Hi Hamish

Long time since I have been here, hope you are well. Been to see Howie today and now have a COOL cammo kilt for this hot wether, see my other post. I think that the cammo kilt will be worn an awfull lot.

Take care...
Martyn