Today was Canada Day (what do you mean you didn't know?) so to celebrate, I donned my Toronto Maple Leafs top and headed off to Whitby for some sun, sand and sex sunburn.

Whitby is a cracking little town. It takes about 1 hour on the train from my hometown - which is only because of all the little scenic stops along the way across the stunning Esk Valley. Its an beautiful added inconvenience in a sunny day such as today.

The photos are now on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24695970@N04/sets/72157620826086386/

The weather was baking hot, even though the day started off pretty cloudy. The entire UK is being slowly oven-roasted at the minute, with temperatures in the capital expected to hit around 35 degrees (!!!) Oh well, this gives me good preparation for Japan, albeit without the raging humidity. The UK gets about 50 to 60% relative humidity, whereas Tokyo averages slightly higher at around 60 to 70% - and trust me that extra 10% adds even more to the heat.

At the moment, I am planning more routinely for Tokyo now - given that its going to be slightly warmer than the UK. I won't be needing any winter wear most of the time, so big stuffy coats are a no-no as of now. I would imagine even in January, Tokyo doesn't get as cold as the UK does or can do. But still, I think am going on the basis of it will be like the UK + 5, the extra 5 accounting for temperature throughout the year.

Anyways, enough of that. I'm back off to Sheffield tomorrow to clean the flat, my room, get my deposit back, buy a backpack, possibly get some nandos, have some beer and then say my teary goodbyes. ;-(

Back on Saturday and into the 'routine' of using my summer productively, as of July 6th. Argh! These kanji and vocab are killing me.