Fish Out of Water

It would appear that, although it is possible to take one little English boy (e.g. BB), remove half of his English genes, replace them with the genes of a French man born and brought up in the Carribbean, provide him with a home in the sunny south of France and thus expose him to a hot climate from day 1 of his short life.... even despite all that, it is not possible to remove his essential English-ness.

Example: yesterday afternoon, when I went to collect BB from crèche, it was 35° in the shade and all the kids were running around naked in the courtyard, giggling and jumping in the puddles made by the hosepipe they were being showered with.
All the kids except one, that is.
As I searched in vain for my own little naked boy, the nursery assistant smiled and pointed inside.
Down the corridor, in a darkened room with shutters drawn and fans blazing, my darling little whiter-than-white skinned BB was happily playing alone.

The poor thing had apparently turned a scary shade of scarlet after the morning outdoor play session, burst into tears and flaked out in bed with no energy even to eat his lunch.

"Oh dear. He's really not made for the hot weather, is he?" laughed the nursey assistant.
"Chaud..." murmered BB, pitifully, cheeks blazing.
My poor baby.
Something tells me that if in a few years time we send him to England for the summer holidays, he'll look on this as a huge treat....