The Heat is On

The temperature today hit 45C (113f) and it looks like the hot days are finally here. It has been a mild year so far, but on Friday the tempature reached 41C (106f) and we have had maximums above 40 ever since. In fact, it porbable that it will break 40 everyday from now till the monsoon hits in late June or early July.

It felt hot as Hades out on the golf course this afternoon (I need some excuse for the appalling run I had between the 11th and 14th holes), but at least that is self-inflicted. My thoughts today were really on the small army of people who tend to the menial jobs around the course. Below the caddies, marshalls and general groundstaff there is a legion of people who spend scorching day after scorching day pulling weeds, clearing scrub, or as I saw eight women doing today on the 14th green, huddled over brushing the dirt from the green (a common sight). The image of people shuffling low across a green, then scattering like a flock of birds as you approach is one that will stay with me long after I leave this country.

I try, as much as I can, to talk to these people and they tell me this work is much better than construction or road building. Looking at their surrounds it is hard to argue with that. It is also more settled (most labourers move constantly searching for work, which means their children are never in one place long enough to participate in education). Today, there seemed to be at least a hundred such labourers around the course (perhaps quite a few more if I had looked harder). It is one of things that takes a toll of sorts on you, if you live here (rather than just travelling); the way you are always sharing the space you inhabit with those who live a vastly different life, no matter how much you contribute.