A few days ago, I was at the Trench Town Reading Centre. The heat of summer has worked its way into our very bones, in recent days. The real answer is rain, but our drought has reached a new pain threshold, and many are without water.

A boy and his penguin. (Photo: Facebook)

So, in Trench Town it was predictably hot – and dusty, from the adjoining space where the boys play football. But the children are happy, because it is summer school (yes, July is the month of award ceremonies and summer schools!)

Teacher Joan with Roslyn peeping over her shoulder…and the inevitable penguin. (My photo)

But did I mention that, this month, the children are all obsessed with penguins? Yes, penguins! The Reading Centre’s tireless co-founder and chief bottle-washer, Roslyn Ellison, did not deliberately choose this theme to make them all feel cooler. But it caught their…