We were already approaching the end of August and it seemed as though the sun had made a deal with the devil. Since the start of the season there has been nothing but clouds, showers and, despite it sounding like a joke, thunderstorms with blankets and hot chocolates, which is actually a nice pastime, just less preferable to enjoy day after day at this time of the year.

Every day has been the same, checking the weather forecast and its changes while keeping a dash of hope for the sunlight not to vanish, but eventually it did at any time. A wonderful sunny day in the early days of June has been on the tip of everyone’s tongues over and over again, even though it has not been mentioned it was still on their minds. Oh, such a lovely day! Yeah! Good memories. The weather is, as a matter of fact, a trite topic among conversations, but this summer it has had a reason, indeed.

It is true that coping with this situation is, if possible, harder for foreigners, who by the way make up a reasonable percentage of the population in London, even more so when it comes to a summer without holiday abroad. But not only foreigners were praying for the sun, everyone was feeling a bit disappointed with this summertime. After all, a human being needs a bit of melanin.

It was then that a sunny Saturday with temperatures topping 30ºC came and everyone went crazy welcoming it as a gift from heaven, just for one day. Like the vast majority of people I decided to make it worthwhile and head to the nearest coastal city, Brighton. However, everyone had drawn up the same plan.

It was ten o’clock in the morning and the train from London arrived and with it thousands of desperate sun worshippers looking for an enjoyable beach day. It can sound a bit exaggerated but the scenery along the street connecting the station with the beach reminded me of a herd of animals walking down at the speed of light, eager to catch the perfect spot on the sand.

I was actually lucky; I took one of the few good places on this pebble beach. A freezing bath in the English Channel, followed by a nice tune on the radio while tanning my unusual pale skin, gave me more positive energy than Popeye when he eats his can of spinach. I was feeling over the moon. What else could I desire?

Moments later, as the morning went on, the beach became chock-a-block! Looking up around, I realized there was already no room to swing a cat. There was no single piece of ground without a human being. So far I had never seen a beach that crowed! We had to literally jump over towels and heads to be able to reach the shore or even ask people, in the most polite possible manner of course, to move as they blocked the sun, towering above us.

More than a beach, it looked like a festival that we all were hitting together as if it were the best of the ranking. Well, it goes without saying that most people present were uncomfortable, as it is not a secret that in this land approaching one´s personal space is like a sacrilege, not to even mention physical contact.

But, eventually, everyone seemed to agree to disagree with the situation and share this limited space with friendly manners. I made friends with the people whose towels touched mine.

At around 5:30 pm my overwhelmed friend and I decided to leave the beach, but not without taking a picture for our memories from the stairs that connect the beach with the main road. I swear I have never ever seen that many people on a beach before. Unnecessary is it to say that the train coming back to London couldn’t offer space for all those commuters fighting to return to the hustle and bustle of the city.

The following day, one of those free papers you can grasp around London showed on its pages the picture of another crowed beach, this time it was Bournemouth, but it could have been any other around the south of England. Next to this photo, the paper printed another one showing the same beach completely empty the next day, raining of course to our surprise. “From desert to deserted”, was the headline.

It was our one-day beach for this summer. It was nice while it lasted. Now, back to normal, having threats of strikes in public transport and rainy days since the sun went down that Saturday. It looks like nothing matters at all since we got our unexpected present, the natural light. The summer of 2015, I will never forget it.