2003-01-18 at 2:34 p.m.

Man oh man, is it ever hot.

I turn on the cold tap, and scalding hot water gushes out. I'm sitting with a fan, on full blast, less than a foot away from me, but all it's doing is pushing the stifling air at me at turbocharged speeds. The thermometer says it's 35C, but I think it's actually closer to 40C. A few minutes ago I thought I smelled bacon cooking, until I realised it was my own flesh going medium-rare.

It's bloody hot.

A few years ago, one particularly hot summer, I spent much of my daylight hours ensconced in the bathroom, which was the coolest room in the house. For hours on end, I'd lie in the (empty) bathtub, and read book after book after book.

I was quite a boring teenager, really.