Ever been to the North Sea?  For anyone not up on their geography, it’s the body of water between the British Isles and the European Continent. 

     Anyway, I was working on oil field supply boats servicing a lay barge that was laying pipe from oil rigs north of Scotland to the Shetland Islands.  One day, at the docks, we were loading stores (that is groceries and other assorted miscelanious) onto the boat.  It was a reasonably comfortable day (to me anyway) for a location that far north. 

     We were just about through when I happened to look at the face of the delivery driver.  It was red as a beet.  I thought he was sick.  When I walked up to him and asked him if he was alright, he replied, I’m fine, but you had better get that ice cream and other groceries inside fast before it melts.  Were in the middle of a HEAT WAVE.  I thought it kind of odd being in a heat wave when it was only 72 degrees.  But I guess you have to expect that from a place where it snows in the middle of July.