🛀 Steamy Debates in Hot Summers – Pipeaway Newsletter #225

Hi from my bed!

Well, as sexy as it sounds, I am not literally in bed. But I’ve been more horizontal than usual these days (hence, newsletter on Friday!). My immunity fell apart, and in the middle of a hot summer, I had all the symptoms of a common cold – sore throat, runny nose, weak muscles…

While England and Wales were counting 2,700 heatwave-related deaths, I’ve been chilled in a radically different way.

I have no idea where I could have picked up the virus. Maybe on a plane? Maybe as I hopped on the crowded London tube, where temperatures could kill cows?

Well, in a city as grand as London, it is hard to reach cooler places, such as Hampstead Heath, without getting in contact with other commuters.

If you’re fine with swimming in muddy waters, encircled by resting gulls (they do poop in the lake, so beware of the dropping bombs), Hampstead Heath ponds are a great place to chill down.

You’ve got Kenwood Ladies’ Pond, Highgate Men’s Pond, Hampstead Mixed Pond, and even an unnamed dog pond. Unlike humans, pets don’t have to pay 5 pounds to enjoy their dedicated city beach.

There are quite a few additional ponds in North London’s green oasis, siren-calling you in summer heat. Some locals responded, ignored the rules against disturbing wildlife, and decided to cool down in the lakes reserved primarily for swans and ducks. Even the police had to be called. When confronted with the pressures of climate change, we are capable of breaking the law.

Years ago, people could enjoy single-sex ponds even without clothes. So, when three summers ago the authorities banned a century-old tradition of nude sunbathing in the open-air changing room, it naturally sparked an uproar among their regular visitors.

Nowadays, the warning sign that sunbathers should “dress modestly and wear family-friendly swimwear” still hangs on the walls of the Men’s Pond dressing room, but it seems that the rule enforcement is not so strict. After all, nobody can regulate the speed of someone dressing up, and some visitors truly take their time.

Resistance is understandable. Whenever public authorities try to regulate public morals in places that have certain established traditions, the heat will rise.

For instance, in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, a discussion on a dress code change in one public bath got rather steamy.

Instead of wearing one piece of clothing, the visitors of a popular Turkish bath now need to cover their intimate region with another one – all to protect against “inappropriate behavior”, like some magical electric fence between two adults.

You should read all the details about the Rudas Baths apron controversy, as it shows how public moral debates may sometimes be used to achieve goals that have nothing to do with skin exposure.

Wherever you are, go vertical if you can, get out of the house, enjoy some sun while it’s there, and cool down at some lake, when available.

That’s my goal as well. Having a cold in a heatwave is no fun.

Have a sunny weekend,

Ivan Kralj    
Pipeaway.com

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Ivan Kralj

Editor

Award-winning journalist and editor from Croatia