Phew what a scorcher!

When I left the grey skies of London for the sunnier climes of North Cyprus, I never thought I’d be so glad to see rain – in May! Officially, temperatures in our recent mini-heat wave reached 40.5 degrees centigrade. That’s summer temperatures as far as I’m concerned, and I for one was just not ready for that much heat this early.

Not that we are alone in this, of course. Smug Sister in London (SSiL) sent gloating pictures of the family enjoying an Easter barbeque in sunshine and shorts and a hint of red sunburn on their lily-white arms. I sent one back his week of me flopped in the shade looking decidedly roasted at the edges!

The papers say it’s been the hottest May for 66 years, and strangely I take comfort in that fact. Amidst all the hue and cry about global warming, this is proof that these kinds of temperatures have happened before, and not so long ago in the overall scheme of things. However, the flip side is that temperatures in the coming months could be up to 2 degrees above the seasonal norm, so it looks like a long, hot summer ahead.

Do I care? Not much! Every year I acclimatise to the heat better, and remember that you simply can’t rush around like a mad dog in the midday sun, even is you are an Englishwoman. Like a more sensible Cypriot hound, I seek out the shade, cool off in the pool, and treat myself to some air-conditioning when the going gets too tough. (Who else makes more trips to air-conditioned shops and banks when it’s hot? Just me? Oh well.)

If only the hot and flustered midsummer tourists would realise the same thing, and calm down a little! I’m sure they would enjoy North Cyprus even more if they respected the midday heat and chilled out more, although the sales of aftersun lotion might drop somewhat...