Nangle Natters: Feelin’ hot, hot, hot!

Feelin’ hot, hot, hot!

It’s hot! Which is glorious when you can pop into the sea for a bob around and then sit in the sun for an hour and know you’ll be dry enough of sea water to catch the bus home without arousing suspicious glances of eccentricity. But it does raise other changes to my usual routine that, to be honest, I hadn’t given much thought to since my teenage years when my parents were on different continents and it was time for my brother and I to travel Far East for visiting time.

Since I don’t have air conditioning in my flat, I’ve been forced to tap into my creative mind for solutions. This is not always a good idea, but I felt it was worth the gamble.

In case of a real ‘can’t-sleep’ emergency

I have laundered my bed sheets and hung them up – till damp – over my bedroom door on order to try and chill the air going past. All the windows in my flat are open, only sometimes closing the bedroom ones at the front in deference to the pub across the road and the dustbin men. And I have a hot water bottle filled with water residing at the bottom of my freezer to be put on a towel at the bottom of my bed, in case of a real ‘can’t-sleep’ emergency.

The thing is, I’m reasonably fit, most of the time. But the heat makes us all more prone to viruses that prosper and lurk – yes, they can do both – in the heat. And yes, I got ill.

Which made me think of those who are already vulnerable. The elderly and the small, the four-legged and… well, everyone that isn’t me. I’ve been going ‘round telling people to drink more water, slap on the sun lotion so they don’t turn into ‘London lobsters’, and sharing Facebook memes warning about hot pavement damage on delicate paw pads.

So have a splash, douse yourself in the sea. And see what your heat-mangled imagination comes up with to stay cool too.