Fry Day

A delightful day that is close to befitting the term 'scorcher', as opposed to those days of 20 degrees during which the media and public go doolally over 'sizzling' temperatures, and all that's left to me is to shoot withering looks.

My friend and colleague Kate has recently returned to head office from a role in Cambodia, where we overlapped. We met for an early doors breakfast in the sun, reminiscing about life in Phnom Penh. She's settling in, getting married later in the summer and is waiting for her fiancé Robin to get back from some fieldwork in Tanzania, so she's not yet at the stage of clamouring for Cambodia's quirks. Although it's a very transitory place and some good friends have left, I hanker for the lifestyle often. It was more carefree in many ways, very little ever felt mundane or non-stimulating and it was a dream for someone with an mind that enquires about behaviour, culture and communication. Working there was challenging but rewarding in its own way, more for the skills it gave than the ability to make great strides in conservation.

We are lucky to live in the UK and those of us who can make it happen are lucky to have the option of living in places like Cambodia. It'll happen again at some point.