As I turn my mind to preparing for my summer vacation, it occurs to me that I will soon be sharing pool-side loungers with sun-worshippers from around Europe and quite possibly further afield. As a creature of habit, I also find myself looking forward to playing a holiday game of my own invention, which I play regardless of my holiday destination. A simple, yet enjoyable game that, although it requires people, I play solo. One reason for that may be to avoid accusations from my wife would that I was still in work mode! I, on the other hand, view it as my wind-down into relaxation mode.
Unless you have a private pool or beach, it is not unusual to see the same groups of people frequenting the sun loungers, often in the same spot, day in and day out. As a seasoned-pro when it comes to recognising people’s skin types, the pool or the beach provides the ideal location for my game. A wide range of skin types at various stages of tanning or, should I say, various attempts at tanning is all I need to set my game off in full swing.
Social anthropology and its impact on behaviour in the sun would be a rather grand nom for my game. Essentially, the game is an observation on human behaviour in the sun, predicting who will and will not tan, whether as a result of behaviour or skin type or both.
Lobster-red bodies, or parts thereof, will be glowing bright as a result of what I can only assume is a resolute determination not to follow the advice of the professionals, or just plain common sense.
It is very easy to spot the holiday-makers from northern Europe with their pale skin and dark hair, generally speaking. The holiday ‘newbies’ from this part of the world stand out like a sore thumb with their luminous white skin reflecting the sun, often glistening with high protection sun cream. Moving through the countries, it is just as easy to spot those with southern European heritage, with their olive-toned skin that you just know will result in the type of tan that all tanners desire.
Despite the European public receiving years of info-campaigning about how to tan responsibly, I know with absolute certainty that I will be shaking my head in disbelief at the irresponsible behaviour of some, if not many. Lobster-red bodies, or parts thereof, will be glowing bright as a result of what I can only assume is a resolute determination not to follow the advice of the professionals, or just plain common sense.
In recent years, there’s also been a new category to observe: an increasing number of pale-skinned people with a fake tan for their holiday. Now, whilst a tan boosts self-esteem and confidence, I have witnessed many occasions where a fake tan has given a false sense of sun protection and the consequence is burnt skin. To my mind, this is where a pre-holiday base tan from a tanning bed fits the bill perfectly.
Are the numbers of those who ignorantly believe “I’ve got to burn before I go brown” on the decline? I really do hope so but to be honest, I’m not sure. If I start losing at my own holiday game, then that would clearly be a good indicator they are and would certainly be one occasion where I would be very happy not to be winning.
Then there is the usual poolside conversation about maintaining the tan when they get home. “Use a tanning bed?” says one person, “Oh no, I wouldn’t use one of those, they’re dangerous!” comes the reply from the mouth of an overly tanned, almost red-raw body. This is the point when I want to leap up in response but am prevented from doing so as my wife straps me to the sun lounger with duct tape, gags me and says, “You’re on vacation.”
