The hot, humid weather these last weeks has made me more conscious of the ways people stand and move about. Exposed flesh increases in area as the temperature rises. Traditional hot-country solutions, something loose and flowing - pyjamas, jellabas, saris and so forth - are not much in evidence. In crowded streets, a tetchy weariness surfaces. Some people are more affected than others. For instance, casual observation suggests that we are in the middle of a baby boom, but it may just be that imagining what it is like to be near term or strapped in a buggy in sticky weather makes me pay more attention to pregnant women and babies.

LRB 17 August 2006 | PDF Download