A moment in time
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This is a true story. I was taking a rest in the lounge after a 3 hour session on Clifton second beach this Sunday. Between naps and random TV watching (without sound - preferring to rather play music in the background), I noticed a close-to-empty glass of Liqui Fruit Summer Pine on the table in front of me, obscuring my sideways view of the television. As I was about to move the glass out of the way, I noticed a fly swimming in the left over summer pine flavour fruit juice. It was giving quite a good effort and I watched it for a while. Then I thought maybe it was cruel to simply watch the fly suffer like that - right in front of me. I weighed up the differences between swatting a fly (instant death) and watching a fly drown (immense suffering) in Summer Pine flavoured fruit juice. I decided the right thing to do would be to save the fly's life, give it a couple seconds enjoyment/relief; and then kill it. As I was about to get up from my resting place I noticed that the fly had stopped swimming. I was too late. The fly was dead. It died in a glass of Summer Pine.

Now here is the unbelievable, yet true, part of the story. At the very point of the fly's death, I realised what chorus had just kicked in on my ipod, which was playing through the surround sound in the lounge. It was Bananarama's 'Cruel Summer'. I looked at the now dead fly in the glass of Summer Pine and thought to myself, "Cruel summer indeed. Cruel summer pine."

Liqui Fruit's Cruel Summer Pine flavour

And so, ladies and gentlemen, in memory of our friend, the dead fly:

Hot summer streets
And the pavements are burning
I sit around
Too hot to handle, baby
Trying to smile
But the air is so heavy and dry
How could you leave me waiting
Strange voices are saying
What did they say
Things I can't understand
It's too close for comfort
This heat has got right out of hand

(chorus x 2)
It's a cruel, cruel summer
Leaving me here on my own
It's a cruel, cruel summer
Now you've gone

The city is crowded
My friends are away
And I'm on my own
Too hot to handle, baby
It's too hot to handle
So I got to get up and go

Seth Rotherham
Editor
2oceansvibe.com
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