“The beach can take us all as it finds us! Don’t you think?”
Chris McGuire, Eastern Daily Press
Is it time that we stopped our obsession with bodily perfection? Here’s my piece for Eastern Daily Press…
In my experience, summer in this country is so fleeting that several times I’ve popped inside to make a cup of tea and missed it completely. “What did you do over the summer?” people will ask. “I ate half a bag of Monster Munch. To be honest, I wasted half of the summer struggling to get the packet open.”
OK, so I’m exaggerating – but not much! Summer is an unreliable friend at a party, the type who either turns up early (before you’re ready), late (when the moment has passed, and you’re busy) or not at all. I’m beginning to wonder why we bother inviting summer along at all!
As a nation we’ve a very unhealthy relationship with a little bit of sun. As soon as a ray (or two) escapes from behind a cloud we strip down to our underwear and attempt to barbecue ourselves – just in case that’s all we’re getting until next year. I’m convinced there are thousands of men who wear Speedos under their clothes all the time (other types of swimming trunks are available, apparently) so they’re prepared if the summer arrives during their lunch break. It seems these fellas actually enjoy their masochistic attempt to show just how unkind Mother Nature can be, and embrace the waves (light, not water).
Chris McGuire, Eastern Daily Press
To read the full column for The Eastern Daily Press, see here.
Chris McGuire: Writer 