You are in:
- Archives » 2006 » July 2006
Happy Daze
"Is the heatwave a good thing?" asks the Independent as temperatures hit 30 degrees, sending Britain into its annual sun-induced hysteria.
Well, yes and no. It's not good for water supplies, skincare, productivity, the health of the elderly and infirm and the long-suffering commuters on London's public transport system, where Mayor Ken Livingstone has warned that serious loss of life could follow a tube breakdown in hot weather. Great - first the threat of terror attacks, now the threat of death by dehydration. London's looking better than ever as a holiday destination.
On the plus side, the hot weather gives us lovely sunsets, uninterrupted sport, pleasant holidays in the UK and boosts sales of booze and ice cream. There are even health benefits. And, of course, the Indie wouldn't be the paper of second choice for Britain's Islington set if it didn't publish a jibe at the Brits, hoping we'd become a little more like our continental cousins. The sun makes us happier and more relaxed, writes health editor Jeremy Laurance, "People in the sunnier climes of southern Europe and the Mediterranean tend to be more open, more expansive and more cheerful than their northern cousins."
Eh? Last study we came across ranked those supposedly gloomy northerners well above southern Europeans, who despite all that sunshine and dolce vita are the most miserable people on earth!
Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway come top of the University of California's Happiness list - compiled, in part, with data from the EU's Eurobarometer polls. Indeed, the Indie uses Edvard Munch's The Scream, painted in Norway, as evidence of Northern European gloom.
Italy is third most unhappy nation, Portugal is second and Greece is most miserable of all. Maybe we should be more like our southern cousins? Perhaps they might cheer up if they were more like us.
