There are probably more Australians living in Britain than there are living in Australia*. In parts of London, it’s almost impossible to buy a coffee or order a meal without being met with that nasal Aussie twang. One of the things that I found strange is that, among an incredibly pale people, the Colonials (as the English so charmingly refer to nationals of their former empire – including Americans) were exceptional in their sallowness. Why on earth would people hailing from one of the sunniest places on earth not take advantage of Blighty’s two to three sunny days a year to brown themselves up? For the Brits, a sun tan is a badge of wealth. If you turned up on the High Street of your town in January with a Coppertone tan everyone seeing you knew that you’d been off on a ’sun holiday’. The deeper the tone of brown, the longer and more exotic the holiday. And then there were the WAG wannabes who proudly strutted the shops sporting a tangerine skin color only found in a bottle. But the Aussies, regardless of time of year, always bore that pallor of grey that comes from a combination of endless rain and air pollution.

Well, on what is forecasted to be the hottest day yet in my Antipodean adventure (41C or 106F), I think I’ve got an answer to that question. The sun in Australia kills. On an island full of critters that can kill you with a bite or a sting, it’s the sun that is the real enemy. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world – it kills 1,600 Aussies and accounts for 80% of cancers diagnosed every year. And rates of skin cancer in Australia are on the rise. On the beaches of Australia, you see as many sun shelters as sun bathers. That’s not to say that no Australians go for a deep tan, some of them certainly do. But where in Britain it was an indicator of class, here it’s kind of like smoking. It is considered a little bit careless – a burden on the public health system, greeted with the occasional “tut” and “harrumph”. I’ve gotten skeptical looks and the occasional whispered condemnation when I’ve dared to take Boy Z out on a sunny day without a hat.

I’ve never been particularly vigilant about sunscreen. Growing up in Florida, this meant more than my fair share of sunburns. But with a few years – and a wee boy – under my belt, that has all changed. The sun in Australia is intense in a way that I’ve never experienced. When you step out into the merciless glare of the Aussie sun you can feel yourself beginning to bake almost immediately. At the height of the day – between 1 and 3 – you’ll burn in 15 minutes without some sun protection. I’ve seen frightening evidence of this fact. So as we enter the fiercest part of the summer, it’s all about sun protection in A Free Man’s household. Sunscreen – always. Hats – always. Boy Z goes to the beach in a bathing suit like the one you see in these photos – no bare chest, no bare butt. The boy is almost certainly going to find himself with a bad burn at some point in his life, but it ain’t happening on my watch – he wears sunscreen and he wears a hat.

Of course, sometimes this is easier said than done…

—————

OK, OK. This was just an elaborate way of showing off some pictures of the kid and to talk about the weather. But it’s damn hot. What do you people want from me?

*This is probably not entirely true.
———————

Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” is an essential album for your collection. Buy it from Nick Drake - Pink Moon.

Image credit:

The Sun

 
icon for podpress  Nick Drake - "Things Behind the Sun" [3:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 31% [?]