We were on a college summer camp on Rottnest Island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, well only 18 kilometres from Fremantle, Western Australia, but one of the girls had to be airlifted off by helicopter as she had heatstroke. Happy days – when we emigrated to Australia in 1964 nobody worried about skin cancer or staying hydrated. Fortunately my parents were aware the sun was hot. Dad was out in Egypt after WW2 before he was demobbed and told of ’idiots’ being stretchered out with third degree burns after sun bathing. Fortunately my parents avoided the beach after being taken to Scarborough Beach by our sponsors on our first day in Australia. Huge waves and hot sand did not appeal and we went to pleasant shady spots by the River Swan.
Unfortunately school outings were gloriously free of sun hats and sun lotion and I recall an early outing when we spent the whole day on the beach and next day my nose peeled and bled! Outings with youth groups on hot days were often followed by me feeling sick the next day; setting off without any money and probably a picnic with a plastic bottle of cordial, I obviously didn’t drink enough. At school we did have plenty of water fountains, I didn’t spend my whole time dehydrated, but my sister recalls that if you were thirsty when you were out you stayed thirsty. I’m sure other people were buying bottles of coke and cool drinks of lurid colour, but we were not.
Our current heatwave has brought endless dire warnings of the dangers of going out – or staying inside homes not designed to cope with hot weather. Modern parents never let their children out without a bottle of water, but they should not panic – if Prince George could sit in the heat of Wimbledon dressed in a jacket and tie there is no need to pamper children.
How is the weather where you are?
Times and Tides of a Beachwriter 
Quite breezy and pleasant in our garden, though not very pleasant for my daughter and son-in-law working and living in London. Nowhere near as hot as it was in SW France last month!
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Yes Grace I felt the heat when I was reading your blogs. Our current heatwave must be nothing to you after that experience.
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As a former redhead (ah, those were the days) there’s no chance I would have returned from Scarborough fair. Of course it is important for older people to stay hydrated in the heat but these days it seems that perfectly fit younger people can’t seem to go around the corner without a drink of some sort in their hand. Mind you, with my wife’s addiction to tea and my (ahem) habit of drinking red wine, there is little chance we will ever be dehydrated. 😉
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Hello Doug, I didn’t start drinking tea till I was fifteen, maybe I would have stayed hydrated if I had discovered sooner how refreshing it is in hot weather.
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Here in New Hampshire, we’re heading into a typical July heat wave. I just need to stay out of the sun.
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Hope you find plenty of shade Liz.
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It’s not too bad in the house, just a bit stuffy.
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Here in New Mexico, USA, we recently hit an all-time record high of 112 Fahrenheit, which is 44.4 Celsius. It is late morning right now and our current temperature is 104F, or 40C. According to the weather forecast, our high today is supposed to reach 107F/42C. However, as hot as it is already, I expect it will surpass that prediction.
By the way, I haven’t started reading your At the Seaside novel yet, because just before I purchased it, a friend asked me to edit her memoir. I hadn’t realized, when I agreed to do this, that editing a full-length manuscript is a full time job. When I am finished, your novel is first on my reading list.
Speaking of editing… in your second paragraph above, you state that your hose peeled and bled after a day at the beach. I really hate when that happens 😀
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Hello Linda, yes don’t you just hate it when your hose peels, have just restored it to noses. I shall be glad when techno recovery restores me back to my big screen.
We apparently hit 40 today for the first time ever, somewhere in the country. We are lucky to have sea breezes. Obviously not in the same league as your temperatures! Good luck with the editing.
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40C is much too hot for England. Do you have air conditioning? When I lived in Mundesley in 1976, there was no air conditioning anywhere, as I recall.
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No air conditioning in our homes, we just open our windows! My house has not been too hot, we have sea breezes, but people in small flats can’t get a good breeze going through.
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I’ve been following your troubles with the heat across the pond. We live in a mild part of the United States, near the ocean, so it’s relatively mild year-round. Unfortunately, many other parts of California are experiencing our 5th drought in six years. The primary problem is the accompanying wildfires that are sure to follow. We keep setting records for acres burned every year.
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Yes Pete, the wild fires are the scariest and impossible to prevent. There was one on the outskirts of London yesterday, started in a garden and apparently spread so quickly to engulf some houses. Luckily everyone got out. We have not gone above 30 here near the sea.
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We got to 39.5 in Beetley yesterday, with zero breeze. It was the most uncomfortable day (in Britain) I can ever remember. Down to 29C at the moment, but still feeling ‘too hot’.
Best wishes, Pete.
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My pilot son said the only reason Coningsby recorded the highest in the news was because they have a met station there! I don’t like very hot, probably why I am not still in Australia. We have been luck with sea breezes and even had drizzle yesterday.
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I’m not a fan of extreme heat, but I do enjoy no rain while I can get it. Sea breezes are to be envied, Janet. 🙂
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We’re about to enter our first heat-wave of the Summer here … it’s a pleasant 21C right now (1.30pm Wednesday) but it’s forecast to be very nasty by the end of the week. The ‘stay hydrated’ thing is so important, but so many people do it with high-sugar, high-caffeine, drinks … kinda defeats the purpose.
I grew up in OZ too, way out in the bush though, and never hydrated either. I drank water when I was thirsty and swam in the creek when I was hot. 🙂 … ahh, those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end … 🙂
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Swimming in the creek sounds good, hope your heat wave is not too bad.
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Here in SE Pennsylvania our summer heat and humidity came very late this year. We avoided what most of the rest of the US could not, but now we are starting day 3 of what should be at least seven straight days of 93-95 F daily, 80F at night…with no chance of rain. Fortunately, we also had a decent amount of rain earlier in the year so everything remains green that should be green…at least for now!
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That is good, we are still waiting for some rain and a good storm to clear the air. Our brown grass will recover when it rains, it always does.
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I have been instructed not to mention the weather, probably because the Seattle area has not been hit with scorching heat like everywhere else.
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Lucky Seattle.
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It’s usually been over 100F and humid lately. We are expecting some thunderstorms tomorrow.
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Hello Deborah, yes that is uncomfortable for you, sounds like a thunderstorm is needed.
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Dangerous game out in the dangerous rays without hats and water, for sure! We had a few days like UK – 40 with humidity. Like I told my best friend who lives in UK, it’s time they start building with air conditioning in mind. This heat wave was no fluke, and I know for quite a few past summers you guys have been having extraordinary heat. I don’t know how I could stand just being without aircon. 🙂
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Hello Debbie, we were lucky to have sea breezes, Bournemouth didn’t get the hottest temperatures, but we did use to live and work at Heathrow, so I know all about the hottest parts. During my teenage years in Australia nobody at that time had air conditioning in their houses!
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