When I look back at my life, it’s easy to see why I readily admit that Summer is my favourite time of year.

I grew up at the seaside, just outside of Bournemouth on the south coast of England, in a small village called Lilliput, right on the edge of Sandbanks, which is now one of the most expensive places to live in the world.

There we had a beach hut, and since my Mum didn’t work, up to the age of 15 I spent every fine day of the summer months at the beach.

Years later I spent some time in New Zealand, where I learned to Scuba Dive, and also spent a lot of time in the ocean, either diving, snorkeling or just enjoying the beach.

For 12 years I traveled extensively in the Caribbean for work, where I had the opportunity to snorkel and dive again, and more recently I spent 3 years living in South Florida, where of course the beach and ocean are right there close at hand.

It’s not just the beach life that I love of course, it’s the ability to be outside much of the time without freezing to death. 

Florida in particular gave me the opportunity to take up walking, and to work out get fit for once in my life.  

I never felt better than I did during my last 2 years in Florida, but sadly since returning to the UK the often inclement weather has limited my ability to go out and exercise as much as I would like.

So naturally I am excited about flying back to Florida tomorrow for two weeks, and look forward to enjoying some sunshine and heat, even if summer in Florida does mean frequent thunderstorms and high humidity.

This article was written on the subject of “Summer” for the blogging group GBE2.