I'm no longer wearing a coat to work. It must be Spring.
I'm no longer wearing a coat to work. The weather's mild and sunny, so I don't need to wear a coat to work any more. And I'm loving it.
I'm no longer wearing a coat to work. But I'm getting funny looks from other people, because almost all of them are still wearing a coat to work. A coat or jacket or fleece or something thick, anyway. But not me. I'm going to work wearing just a shirt (above the waist, at least). I've cast my clout before May has even arrived.
I'm no longer wearing a coat to work. Everybody else must still be looking out of their window first thing in the morning and thinking "ooh, it looks cold out there, I'd better put a coat on". Whereas I'm checking my outside thermometer at half past seven, noting that the temperature is already in double figures, and heading out coat-free. Because it's not cold out there, whatever the calendar hints it should be. Really it isn't.
I'm no longer wearing a coat to work. And I stand out. Everybody else has a top layer that's beige or black or grey or blue or brown or white or navy. But not me. I'm walking to the tube station in a purple shirt, de-coated, radiant. I'm the single splash of bright colour in a sea of commuting neutrals. I must stick out like a sore thumb.
I'm no longer wearing a coat to work. I sort of miss having coat pockets. I have to shove everything that would have been in my coat pockets into my trouser pockets instead, which means that my trousers bulge somewhat in the lower-hip region. I'm told that this isn't a stylish look, walking around with two swollen side-pouches on full display. But I don't care, because I'm not intending to impress. I just need somewhere to store my daily essentials, and I don't need to weigh myself down with a coat or bag just for that.
I'm no longer wearing a coat to work. It's made listening to my mp3 player rather more awkward. Before this week I could hide my headphone leads beneath my coat, stop them getting in the way of things. But now, coatless, I have black cables flapping around in front of me all the time. Now I risk having my earphones tugged out by some passing commuter in the sardine crush of a packed tube carriage. I could try feeding the cables down between my shirt buttons, I guess, just to keep them out of sight, but somehow that's not quite so straight-forward.
I'm no longer wearing a coat to work, so I'm no longer wearing a coat home from work either. Which is perfect. It's so warm by late afternoon that anybody returning home in a coat is going to swelter and sweat in a mildly uncomfortable manner. Like everybody else appears to be. But I'm OK, because I'm not overheating in my shirt. It's so liberating.
I'm no longer wearing a coat to work. I'm enjoying the pre-Summer weather already, far sooner than most of the rest of you. Come on, be a bit braver, whip off that jacket and leave it at the back of your wardrobe until October. Late October, if you dare.
