Summer, summer, summertime…. Time to sit back and unwind…

Today, London is expected to hit 33’ C. That’s around 91’ for our friends across the world using Fahrenheit instead of Celsius, making today the hottest day of 2016 so far in the UK. 

As Brits, we wait all year for our few days of summer. We can’t wait to light up the barbecue, pour a jug of Pimms, press play on the iPod to Summertime by Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and listen to the Fresh Prince's new definition of summer madness… 

Social media will be flooded with either those complaining that it’s too hot, or the majority showing us how they are enjoying the sun, those able to get outside and make the most of it.

People of the UK will today fill any little bit of green area near their offices to bask in the sunshine on their lunch hour. No doubt many will have taken the day off to head to parks and the seaside to make the most of the heatwave we are experiencing. Pasty legs will be on show, blokes will have their tops off, kids will have their paddling pools out in many gardens, open air swimming pools will be full, ice cream men will be loving the extra business caused by people’s desire to cool down. Barbecues will be producing many burnt burgers up and down the country. But the one thing you can put money on, is that nationwide, there will be scores upon scores of people who be tanning today who will no doubt suffer from sunburn.

Although I didn’t usually burn, I was always one of those people tanning. I worshipped the sun. I loved to be tanned. I felt better in myself, had more self-confidence and felt happier with my appearance when I had a sunkissed look. In early adulthood I would sunbathe at any opportunity, often using oil instead of any sun lotion with protection. I even used tanning beds to top my tan up. I would certainly say that I was addicted to tanning at that age. As the years rolled by, I still enjoyed the feeling the heat and rays of the sun hit my skin, but I was not as militant about it. I spent two years living in the Middle East, where the strength of the sun was so much higher than I was used to in London, but I would still tan regularly, and would still only use low factor sun protection; never higher than a factor15.

Earlier this year, I had A Wakeup Call, a mole that I had been concerned about had to be excised, and I had a week long wait to find out if it was Melanoma. I was lucky. And I have sworn to live my life having learnt my lesson. That’s not to say I will not sunbathe from here on. I will. I am a summer baby, and summer is when I am happiest. But I will do it sensibly. 

Unfortunately today, people will suffer from sunburn, highly increasing their chance of being susceptible to skin related issues such as Melanoma. The sad fact is that today, six people will lose their battle with Skin cancer. Think of that daily figure, over the course of  the summer, that is a lot of loved ones who will be without someone special.

There is simple advice for surviving the heatwave, and to be honest it is common sense: High factor sun lotion, shade, lots of water, cover up, avoiding long instances of exposure to the sun, and making sure the little ones are kept cool. When you are certain age, you can manage the way you get through the heatwave. Young babies, children and the elderly are the ones who are really going to struggle. 

On another note - cars will be even hotter, so to leave a dog or child in a car should be a criminal offence. Do not take the risk. Not even for two minutes.

If you do manage to avoid the office, and actually get to spend some time in the sun, please be sensible. It could really make a difference to the rest of your life.  But enjoy the sun, enjoy each other. Get the  BBQ on, get the summer time feel good songs on, and make a memory! For me personally, many of my fondest memories over the years have been formed in the summertime. I am sure I am not the only one.

It's a f**cked up world that we live in...

Yesterday I asked myself and colleagues around me a question – are we, as the social media generation, desensitised from shocking and gratuitous violence?  I think as a majority, we probably are. Well I certainly am. And in my opinion that is down to the way coverage is shared via social media.

I have various forms of social media, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram. Each serves its own purpose. When I learnt of the shooting of Alton Sterling, I logged into my Twitter account. With literally a few keyboard strokes, I saw video footage of two murders on my Twitter feed. It saddened me, but I certainly wasn’t shocked and moved to a new level of emotion that I probably should have been. And I blame that, not on movies and video games. But the sharing of REAL time news on social media.

The two separate videos were the murders of two black men by US police officers. I used the term murder as in my opinion that is what it was. No doubt about it in my mind. No other term is required or can be justified. The officers that killed Alton Sterling and Philando Castile murdered them. 

The police officers seemed to be a fit of rage and hysteria in the aftermath of pulling that trigger. It was almost as if the gun in their hand and uniform on their body gave them a sense of power that they were invincible, and as soon as the sound of the bullets leaving the chamber stopped ringing in their ears, they snapped into an understanding of what would happen to them from now on. 

Their lives will be turned upside down and those of their families. The split second it took to murder those men will impact those around them forever. But that is nothing in comparison for those who lost someone in that action. Children will never have their daddy back, and that is unacceptable. The US police needs to seriously review the types of people they are hiring, as they are engaging their firearms before engaging their brains. 

This morning I woke and the top trend on Twitter was #Dallas. When you see a place name trending, you know something bad has happened. And it has. In what appears to have been an organised revenge attack on police officers, resulting in eleven officers shot, five killed, and an unconfirmed number of members of the public have been shot at a #BlackLivesMatter protest in the city. Once again, events have been captured on film, and shared online. In one video which has been shared virally, we have seen the execution of one officer, who was killed doing his job. And again I wasn’t shocked. The cold hearted execution of a police officer doing his job should have moved me. But we have seen it before. 

But yesterday isn’t the first time that we have witnessed such atrocities, and certainly won’t be the last. But in recent times, I have learnt about these incidents via Twitter and Facebook. In the past weeks we have seen the mass murder in the Orlando nightclub, and although mass footage didn’t come out, individual messages and heartbreak were shared internationally on social media.

In August last year, videos flooded social media of the murders of news reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. These videos had been filmed and released by the killer himself. The videos were shared instantly and spread like wild fire globally. They became viral. Millions of people saw the horrified look on Alison Parker's face as she literally stared down the barrel of a gun. Whether they wanted to or not. The image was shared and publisized around the world.

In yesterday’s murders, the attack in Dallas, and the murder of the news team last summer, we have witnessed someone taking human life without thought or compassion. We have seen the last moments of someone’s life, and in some videos even seen their last breath.  

And although truly heart-breaking when you think of the impact of the action upon the individuals, loved ones, families, friends, co-workers etc, we as members of the social community still share the videos on social media, with no thought of who may see it. 

Acts of violence, murder and terror attacks are part of the world we live in, but we have a duty to share the news responsibly. Social media gives everyone a voice, but in my opinion we have a responsibility about how we use that voice. There is an argument that people can share the truth on social media, the truth as it happens, compared to a filtered and censored version we may often get from the media news outlets.

We are a generation who have been brought up on violent movies, violent video games and global atrocities being shown on our screens. We are a generation who know that gratuitous violence is just a few clicks away should we want to see it. We are also a generation who have been brought up with modern cameras, smart phones, body worn cameras and live streaming. When something shocking happens, you will often see a crowd of people with their phones out filming the activity. The ability to film what is actually happening is there to prove the actions that are occurring,  which has never been more evident than in the murder of Philando Castille, who’s partner filmed and broadcasted live on Facebook the aftermath of the Police officer opening fire on him after he reached for his driving licence. In that ten minute Facebook live video, we saw the moment he passed away and her remarkable calmness and willingness to comply with the officer, as the officer seemed to become hysterical. 

Desensitization to a subject suggests a lower level of emotion in response to something you have witnessed. 

I would describe myself as an emotive and passionate person, yet with all of the things I have seen recently, with the additions of coverage of huge events over the years such as: 7/7, 9/11, Sandy Hook, Columbine, and not to mention the countless violent or abusive videos random Facebook friends have liked or shared, I would certainly say that I view things with a lower level of emotion towards them, compared to how I would have felt in days before social media. I am sure I am not alone in feeling that way. 

I seem to be tweeting the same thing quite often now days : "Its a fucked up world we live in."

My thoughts and condolences go out to the families of all of the people who have lost their lives in recent events. RIP.