A Euro's worth of heaven

It is warm. We've been somewhere in the 28-32 degree zone this week and it seems these temperatures will be around for a bit longer. There's been a mixture of lovely breezes and  strong gusting winds. Either way they've provided a refresher from the heat. That's not a complaint. Rather the abrupt arrival of summer, in mid-July after months and months of rain, has been a bit of a shock and left me (and probably a lot of other people) unprepared for wearing summer clothes and exposing (as in my case) those little white legs. Mike is back in shorts revealing his longer and noticeably hairier legs. I've been wearing of late some floaty dresses. Then of course there's the joy of being outside in the garden - ours or someone else's - till about 10.30 at night and still with nice light. Which is what we were doing yesterday evening, round at some friends, who have rented a house in Cravant from other friends of ours here, for a month. They go back to the UK on Tuesday. Which means we will have been back for a month as well. We all travelled to France on the same day, 17 June, but at different times. The four weeks have just flown by.

How to keep cool when it's hot? That's the question. Can stay in the pool - if you have one. We don't. Or a cold running shower. Expensive and a waste of water. Discovered that the automatic doors of supermarkets create quite a cool airstream. But it's a bit boring spending a day going in and out. The shutters on the houses here are brilliant for keeping the inside cool during the summer (and warmer in winter). It's the reason for so many holiday makers to ask. 'where's everyone?' as they pass through seemingly deserted French villages with all the houses closed up, particularly at lunchtime and in the afternoon.  Life is going on, except the shutters are either closed or latched ajar, to keep the house feeling cool and fresh. It works. 

1 Euro's worth of heaven

My own favourite piece of cooling kit, was bought about five years ago, from a little store in Malaga for the absurd price of 1 Euro. It has been eyed enviously everywhere from stuffy overcrowded foyers in theatres and packed art exhibitions, to tedious queues and warm cafés. I have a few of these now, acquired from the same place each time we went back and in a variety of colours.  Each one is slightly different. Some are decorated to an elaborate level, others less so. A few are quite plain and in single block colours - white, green and maroon. They are all small enough to fit into a shoulder/hand bag and easy to whip out in time of need. Just brilliant. One of the best investments ever.