July

July is my birth month. When I was born in 1944 in England it was one of the warmest months of the year. It fell in the six weeks school holiday and freedom from the depressing classrooms of that era. Summer, so short in the UK, a wonderful change from the short, cold days of winter. Schoolrooms in winter were dark, wet, and steamy with the smell of wet children, coats and boots drying out next to antique radiators. But July, what a wonderful time of year for children. Maybe a holiday to the seaside, donkey rides on the beach and buckets and spades purchased from the stalls along the seafront.
Leap forward in time. July in my adopted country. It’s the middle of winter, the coldest and wettest month of the year. It’s still my birthday but instead of donkey rides and birthday parties in the garden, now it’s umbrellas, coats, hats and gloves. Birthday cakes are eaten around a fireplace accompanied by red wine. The years come and go, exactly the same, no matter which hemisphere one is living. However, those memories of my childhood birthdays still loom large in my memory, a new party frock, hair tied in rags the night before to ensure ringlets for the birthday photograph and pass the parcel. Only one winner though, not like today’s children who expect a gift each time they tear off a layer of paper.
On Tuesday the nineteenth I will be 78 years old, celebrating a birthday in the middle of winter.

Prompt: What do you know about JULY? Research and write what you know or base this on fiction or with true facts. You have until the end of JULY to complete this assignment should you choose to accept this challenge.
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