The Boys of Summer - Don Henley

Lyrics:- 'Those days are gone forever' - Henley & Campbell

Song Choice:- Yikes, I've gone back to 1984 for today's aptly named track 'The Boys of Summer'. It's well worth a listen if you've forgotten just how good the song was at the time or if you have never heard of Don Henley or 'The Eagles' in fact, the Group he famously drummed and sang lead vocals for all those years ago.

You see, for me there is no better time, certainly down here in Wales, than the Summer months. Walking across Llandaff Fields yesterday, the scorched grass reminded me of the long, hot summer of 1976.

My those Summer Days' were long... They went on forever, well into September actually, without a single drop of rain. Reservoirs dried up, hose-pipes were banned and the roads simply melted - Happy Days eh?

They were happy though. Perhaps happier for some than they are now, as there was SO much more time and far fewer distractions - our lives were just - emptier. The internet hadn't been invented and good old Apple Corporation, (without whom modern life simply wouldn't or couldn't exist) had only just been created.

Sure, things weren't all rosy and the brown nylon, transistorised world luckily blew out as we headed into the 80's and the digital world took over but is it just me that thinks there was something magical about those days? Temperatures peaked at 35.9°c (96.6°c) in Cheltenham on July 3rd 1976, and 23.65 billion Ladybirds swarmed in to feed on a plague of Aphids, that as I remember, were simply everywhere - Everyday the weather rulebooks were rewritten.

That year will always be remembered even though 1995, '97, '01, '03 and '06 had hotter specific Summer months - funny how Folklore is created.

For me, the one I'll remember the most is the Summer of 2016 as it's the one I missed out on. I spent all of it in hospital missing out on the light evenings, running through golden cornfields and feeling the warm Summer Sun on my skin. Therefore I'm making up for it this year and enjoying every single moment of it.

Are you? And what will you remember this Summer for I wonder? I'd love to know...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,584 Days' Alcohol Free - 432 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru