Hello everyone
The UK is in the middle of another heatwave and we are doing our usual thing, which is not coping with what other countries in Europe (especially Southern Europe) and the States might think perfectly normal. At the beginning of the week, in the South of England, we were at 27C(80F) and at the hottest, in the Midlands and East of England it was 30C+ (86F+). The thing is i) our heat is humid and ii) our infrastructure, especially our housing is not built for hot weather. Very few of our housing stock is geared up to cope with climate change, no air con for starters, and we still aspire to have light pouring in to our houses. No, not now we shouldn’t. What we all need is shutters on the outside of our windows to keep the sun and heat away from our rooms.
But instead, the many blocks of flats built in our cities with their large shutterless windows are like ovens, as are many schools. And don’t forget many Brits living in towns and cities aspire to live in beautiful Edwardian and Victorian terraced houses. Indeed, much of the housing stock throughout the UK is old and built before any regulations were around. And then in modern times, what with our wet, windy and cool weather, we began to think that double glazed glass was needed for our windows. I mean, who remembers winters when the windows were covered in ice, on the inside of the single paned window! You used to breathe on the window to see outside! Climate change and heat never came up – that was unimaginable. If any consideration was taken of our weather it was to keep drafts out of our old housing stock and keep things warm in the winter.
Now, if new, our houses are built with insulation to keep in the heat during winter, maybe a few new houses might also have the right kind of insulation that will help to the house to stay cool in the summer. But what we all need is help and advice to buy ‘air to air’ heat pumps, which take in air that makes housing either hotter in winter or cooler in summer. In fact there are many things that could lessen the heat in cities, reflective paint on walls, and this idea, which I love, of 3:30:300 advocated by the UKGNC (the UK Green Building Council). They suggest you should be able to see 3 trees from your home: have 30% tree canopy in your neighbourhood; and be no more than 300 metres from a biodiverse greens pace or park. OMG, I think I can do that! Here is a photo I took out of my bedroom window.
It’s all green shrubs and trees. Sadly, what you can’t see is a busy road at the top of the slope so we get a fair bit of noise from the traffic – fortunately it quietens down at night.
And btw, homes should be water efficient and I’d so like to do this. For instance, we could recycle bath and shower water to flush toilets and water the garden.
An aside here, to keep myself sane (after watching, say, a serious documentary) I watch supposedly funny reels on social media. One I watched recently was explaining the difference between the States and the UK (by an American living in the UK). It went as follows: what does an American do when it gets hot? They put on the air con, and a Brit? They open a window. Yup, that’s what we do and it is hard for us Brits to not open window, it goes against the grain to keep the window shut, it really does. And I did have the windows open on that hottest day as there was a bit of a breeze, but we shouldn’t. Then another reel of what an American does when it gets hot? Go in the pool. And a Brit? They hang the washing out. Hanging out washing is a must for me. It is such a lovely thing to do and so economic – it costs nothing to you or the planet. On a straight line or rotary, it doesn’t matter. Nothing beats the smell of washing that has been hung out to dry. I do believe that in some countries hanging the washing out is not considered the done thing. Why? We Brits even hang washing out in the winter – it does dry, a bit 😂
Enough ramblings about the weather. How about some hot weather clothes – which have to be dresses, of course.
Here’s a dress I haven’t as yet worn this summer. And, oh calamity, the photo seems to have brought out the wrinkles – I can see it could do with an iron! I admit I haven’t! It’s wonderfully cool to wear though, what with it being linen. This was a charity shop buy (£10) from 2023.
Here’s a dress you’ve seen before.
This was also bought from a charity shop last year. This has a Zara label and was new. It’s made of thin cotton and while its shape isn’t exactly flattering it is remarkably cool to wear, so this is a dress for a hot day. The print reminds me of Matisse’s cutouts.
And finally a dress I wore on holiday in Aldeburgh bought last year from the Dress Agency.
Now you’ll have to forgive those wrinkles as I’d just come back from a shopping trip to Brighton, and this one I had ironed! But we went by bus and phew it was hot. There was no air con and we sweltered. Once in Brighton it was cooler than Lewes being by the sea. It was so good to step off the bus and feel a slight sea breeze!
I’m very fond of this dress as it’s cool to wear, but quite stylish I think. I bought it from the dress agency I go to in Lewes, so it was a bit more expensive at £40 but the label is Foil, which is a New Zealand brand and quite pricey actually, so I think this is quite a bargain.
Do tell me how you are coping with the heat. I am interested in all your tips, especially those of you who live in countries other than the UK. Btw, if you are interested there is a group of bloggers who write about their houses and neighbourhoods in a monthly group blog called ‘Where Bloggers Live’. This month was all about surviving hot summers. Do read Bettye’s blog, she’s the founder of this group and here she talks about surviving heat and humidity in South Korea – now that is a hot and humid nation and her tips for dealing with heat are so useful. I, too, have a paper fan and it really works and is such a simple solution. Mind you I would hate to live somewhere where you couldn’t go out, but just maybe we might have to change from being like, ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’ who go out in the midday sun.
Personally, I wouldn’t want the UK to go down the air con route as it’s so bad for the planet. Please, why can’t there be mandatory outside shutters installed on all new buildings. And allow all householders in older housing stock to install outside shutters too. These are kindest to the planet and they do work. What do you think?
That’s all for now
With love from, Penny
Hi Penny, the heat!! I live in Italy and couldn’t live without air-con and shutters. We definitely don’t have the air-con on all the time: only when it reaches about 30°C. Otherwise windows and shutters closed when there’s direct sunshine and shutters half-closed when there’s shade. Most importantly: keep out of the sun at midday.
I do think outside shutters are a must but I don’t see any in the UK, what we do is put up blinds indoors and we are learning to close windows and pulling curtains shut and blinds down. But very soon that won’t be enough.
Shops and cafes are quieter during the day. Twice now I’ve been out in the early afternoon and hardly anyone was in a popular coffee shop that I always go to.
Thanks Christine 😊
I lived in South West France for 10 years and never need air con because of the high ceilings and wooden shutters. Electric fans in the bedrooms for guests
but that’s all that was needed. Tiled floors through the ground floor and plain wooden floors on the upper storeys helped too.
For anyone who uses an electric fan at table or floor level try freezing bottles of water and placing one or two about 30 cms in front of a running fan. Helps drop the temperature by a few degrees.
I forgot the glorious coolness you get from tiled floors – I wonder if we need to go that way? But flats often specify that you don’t have bare floors and that they need to be carpeted. I like bare floors but our rooms are carpeted.
And yes to that trick with the fan. I’ve got a column fan – they’re really good.
Thanks Holly 😊
Oh its so humid here and 30 degrees celcius. But we have a inflatable pool so I can manage, lol. To be in Brighton with this weather is so good. To sit at the promenade, watching people, hear all the noise of the sea, I love it! Love the red dress on you.
Brighton will be heaving with people and the beach will be stuffed with bodies, better you go to Seaford where everything is flat and easy to access. But there’s nothing like a sea breeze to cool the temperature down a bit. Here in the UK it’s inland especially the midlands that’s getting the highest temps.
Thanks re: the red/orange dress 😊
I have indoor shutters and find these quite effective against the heat, especially if I leave a window open to release the build-up of hot air between glass and shutter.
I always think that indoor shutters look very attractive, but I still think the most effective way to cut down heat is electronic outside shutters that come down at the press of a button. We experienced this in Toulouse one summer and these shutters were amazing and so effective in a friend’s flat – which btw, had no air con. The shutters were sufficient.
But interesting to know about your experience. I have blinds indoors, and if it’s a heatwave, like now, they are pulled down throughout the day. They kind of work, but these indoor blinds still get hot themselves and as for the glass of the window it’s boiling as we are south facing. I still think our housing is not up to scratch re: heat, partly because the emphasis has always been on keeping houses warm through the winter. We have a lot to do I think to adapt to the coming disaster that climate change will bring.
Thanks Julia 😊
I am fortunate enough to live in an Edwardian semi. We have adopted the Mediterranean practice of opening all the doors and windows early in the morning to fill the house with cool air. Then when the temperature rises we close them all up and pull the curtains on the sunny side. We have invested in double glazing for our sash windows, and the maximum loft insulation. Last Tuesday at 7 pm the outside temperature was 31, and indoors was 23, so very comfortable. We bought a fan for the bedroom to help with sleep.
I noticed a neighbour hung large wet towels on the outside of her windows – easily done with sash windows, but might be possible in modern properties.
I agree with you, the way forward is to make adaptations rather than installing AC, which only adds to global warming. If only new-builds were constructed to take climate change into account.
You sound as though you’ve got everything right, I too have learnt to close windows on the sunny south-facing side and pull the blinds down. And we know that the flat is well insulated for normal seasonal temperatures in that it is always warm in the winter and cool in the summer. But over the last 3 years with these increasingly hot summers we realise that the flat is not adapted to climate change as the temperatures indoors in the front south-facing rooms are too hot so it is about adaptation to a different hotter planet. Now if we were freeholders I would install outside shutters, but we are leaseholders and the Housing Association throws up its hands in horror – oh no, you can’t do that. Interesting – they may need to learn fast. I’m thinking of campaigning about retro-fitting their hundreds if not thousands of flats with all the things needed for the coming years.
And yes, new builds should be constructed to take on climate change but older buildings and especially blocks of flats need to be retro-fitted for the coming even hotter years.
Thanks Ruth 😊
Hello Penny, I live in Italy, Milan which is becoming unbearably hot in the summer. I would say that most buildings have shutters which are a definite must but also a lot of buildings mine included, built in the 1970s have air con as the thin walls simply don’t keep out the increasingly intense heat and on this point,I am in the south of Italy at the moment staying in a very old house which has very thick walls. These walls really do help to keep the intense heat out.
Talking about Mad dogs and Englishmen… you definitely don’t see many locals on the streets at lunchtime but in the evening when it is cooler, the shops and streets are very busy and most shops stay open until seven thirty or eight.
Ah yes, the old way in Southern Europe was outside shutters, thick walls, and, of course, a siesta and/or not going out in the midday sun. Your stay in the south of Italy sounds lovely.
The reliance on air con is based on readily available electricity, which we all think will always be there and it probably will be but then there’s the pumping of that hot air in the house into the outside of the house. It does seem irrational, what with the knowledge that climate change needs to be stoped or else….. But a couple of days ago, I was actually thinking should we get something like a portable air con machine and then thought – noooooo! I really do think that outside shutters ought to be a thing, but it never comes up as the thought processes of our elders and betters who might be able to shift to doing something about retrofitting for climate change is rather like getting a large tanker to do a three-point turn. The mindset is insulation and saving heat and keeping warm in winter. Hey guys, I feel like shouting, what about the heat in summer. And out comes the advice to look after the ‘elderly’ and drink more water. 🙄
Thanks Charmaine 😊
That is the one thing we had in France was shutters! The old kind, when growing up, the wooden shutters that we would close almost all the way to create shade but let in a breeze. My friend now has the metal kind that comes down. Of course here in the US, we have AC, you can’t imagine how high my power bill is for our large house! We do have blinds inside on the windows which we use to help in the afternoons.
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Oh they are so lovely, those outdoor wooden shutters, I remember them well as I worked in Switzerland in the early 1970s and was rather astonished to find how much hotter there summers were than in the UK. But they had shutters – and they were amazing. I loved them. Also every day we aired our duvets outside the bedroom window – did you do that!? I thought that rather odd but did it all the same and just grew to like it.
Ah yes, AC, it must be so good. And we do have some AC in shops and cafes – it’s almost worth going out in the middle of the day to experience the coolness! But Mireille – AC is not good for the planet. There has to be another way. I hope that the UK goes this other way – what ever it is.
Thanks you so much Mireille 😊
I love that orange dress! It really suits you, Penny. I , however, burn so easily I have to wear sleeves. Prefer them elbow-length which are surprisingly hard to find in dresses…
I too don’t like to bare my arms in the sun, especially since I had a melanoma on the back of my arm, so over these dresses I also wear a very loose, large, and thin, white linen blouse which covers my arms but is loose enough and cool enough to wear on hot sunny days.
I agree! It is so hard to find long summer dress with sleeves
Thanks Helen 😊
I’ve never enjoyed very hot weather & it seems to be harder to cope with every year . I really feel for those in high rise buildings . We get up very early now for our daily walk & stay inside at the hottest times , only venturing out to fill up the birdbaths. Like Ruth above we live in an old house with thick walls & if we follow the same procedures as her it stays surprisingly cool . We have small quarter windows above the large panes which we leave open all night too .Our neighbours with south facing patio doors struggle at times but our sunroom is surrounded by trees , many planted by us over the last fifty years . It saddens me that people opt for hard surfaces in their gardens & even the dreaded plastic grass . Then I read of people in hot countries needing air conditioning but using electric dryers rather than a washing line ?? There’s an interesting podcast on BBC radio 4 called The Briefing Room , UK Resilience For Climate change which you might enjoy . I love the fabric of that third dress .
I will check out that podcast – I’m very much podcast person – it sounds right up my street, as they say! You are very sensible about going out early. I call myself an early bird which in reality means I get up early but stay in my pyjamas doing this and that and writing/corresponding on this blog for hours. And then I go, oh gosh I better get dressed! I think large south facing glass windows and doors, and especially those glass extensions/sunrooms will become a negative when selling houses. How lovely to have all those trees and well done you for staying in one place for 50 years!
Thanks Wendy 😊
I live in Canada, and most of the country has been dealing with wildfires – meaning evacuations (people have lost their properties), and poor air quality. I enjoy walking, and it’s been a challenge due to the poor air quality. Plus heat and humidity doesn’t bode well (had heat exhaustion a few years ago, so I need to be careful). Staying hydrated and using sunscreen are musts.
I loved seeing the assortment of dresses – thank you for sharing.
Oh yes, the wildfires in Canada. We always think of Canada as a really cold country so I was surprised that you get wildfires – and quite serious ones too. Hope they come under control soon.
Stay well and thanks Cindy 😊
Oh, Penny, I had to smile when I read about your wrinkles – for a moment I thought you were referring to yours,😱! Sooo sorry, but only the other day I realised I’m now sporting loose AND crepey skin on my arms – (shock horror) – something you don’t have – and am now seriously considering wearing a burka as like Helen, I find elbow-length sleeves are as rare as hens’ teeth.
You look good in all of your dresses, especially the orange one. I’m afraid the villagers here have had to get used to me in my shorts these hot days, but I’ve saved them from having to put up with any skimpy tops, that would be real scrawn overdose!
Fortunately, our most-used rooms are north-facing and we’ve trees so have managed to stay cool(ish). And I agree with you, you can’t beat line-dried washing. It breaks my heart when my daughter, who lives in America, uses her dryer every day: She certainly wasn’t brought up that way! But, as I/we don’t have a dryer, just an old fashioned washing machine, I must admit that when we’re visiting and it’s a cold and rainy wintry day, it is nice to have laundry done and dusted ‘just like that!’
Not much chance of that sort of weather here right now!
Stay safe.
Zepherine x
Long sleeve summer dresses are incredibly hard to find, but I too don’t like baring my arms so I always take with me a long-sleeved, thin and loose, white linen blouse and wear it open like a jacket. That really works as you can see it’s a dress and the ‘jacket’ is quite cooling as it catches the breeze. Line-dried washing is the absolute best, even towels, as I rather like the exfoliation you get from a rough bath towel 😁
North-facing rooms are the best these days. Thanks Zepherine 😊
Hi Penny. I just came in from my morning walk, trying to get it in while it is cooler and a breeze. I am lucky in that my house is shady, I have an old cherry tree in front and my neighbor has a very large ornamental pear which also shades my unit. Not so good in winter as the snow and ice do not melt off my car easily but I am lucky in the summer. I do have AC but try to minimize my use of it. And there is a pool in the complex. Actually my daughter loves to come over and do laps so I get to see her regularly. When my grandchildren were in fact children the family came over many Fridays in the summer. Now that they are young adults , and my granddaughter lives on her own and out of state, this no longer happens. But tonight it will as my son, daughter in law and grandson will come over as he will be shortly returning to college. This summer has been hot and often humid but not much rain. There was a good thunderstorm two days ago but we could use more. For now no drought as last year.
The orange dress looks great on you! Not a color I wear much but wonderful on you. I have been looking at dresses this year and last but nothing seems right. I do have a few I have had for a while and it is enough to get through the season. In fact, I have not purchased anything this year. My son in law gifted me with an official 100th anniversary pony swim tee shirt which I wore on vacation but other wise nothing has tempted me. I has been a quiet summer socially , no events to speak of even my dinners with friends have been fewer. I have been happy that I can have breakfast on the patio, maybe see a few birds and sit out in the evening. Love from New York, Darby
Sitting on your patio having breakfast and watching the birds in the evening just sounds idyllic and must be great. I think on the whole considering where the climate is going it’s best to be shaded by the trees. And to have a pool in your complex – how wonderful and how lovely is that to have your family over to enjoy it. We too long for rain.
A quiet summer is good especially if it’s hot. Thanks so much Darby and sending you very best wishes from across the pond 😊
Our house is all brick so it holds the coolness in fairly well. That being said, it also stays hot if it gets hot. Probably 75-80% of the houses in our suburb town are new builds which means few mature trees so shade isn’t an option. And, crime is always a consideration because Indianapolis is a crossroads for several highways. That means we don’t leave our windows open overnight which is something I always loved. Our neighborhood association prevents hanging anything, even a rug, out to dry. Again, I miss that. When we lived up north, I had trees and a clothesline because you just can’t beat those things.
I think you should embrace wrinkled linen! It’s a no win situation! I actually like the wrinkles.
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Oh yes, I know what you mean about not opening the windows fully as we are also on the ground floor. Before I’ve always had a bedroom on an upper floor, and quite high up whilst we were in the other two apartment blocks. But we do have a facility to lock them open (about 2 “) which is a good compromise.
Hanging out our washing on a washing line is a very British thing. We like doing it. It’s one of our most basic characteristics to do that, usually on a long line. I would agree that there are a few who do have dryers but if at all possible during the summer – out goes the washing. And shock horror, when I had a garden of my own (all my life, until approx 6 years ago) even underwear went on the line. This was btw quite normal. It’s funny really as our summers used to be dominated by rain, so we were always dashing out and taking it when the rain came. Sadly there’s not a lot of rain now.
RE: the wrinkles – yes agree, but the orange dress could do with an iron before I wear it out. After that, I agree, the wrinkles in linen don’t really matter.
Thanks Marsha 😊
It is hot and I am here in my tiny flat as you point out not designed for these temperatures. Will pop round to my son’s later – he’s just round the corner so I try not to overstay my welcome but his family live in a Victorian house which usually always seems cold but today it will be welcome. I have spent the morning charity and thrift shopping – you inspired me to do this but I didn’t have much time ..now in retirement I’m enjoying this. Thanks Penny
I still go to charity shops but just not as much as I used to – I just decided to change my habits as tbh I was quite addicted to it 😁 So while I still get the occasional charity shop buy, the number of items I buy is very much reduced – and I feel really pleased about that! But actually if you can find that elusive quality bargain it is both a good feeling and we are helping a charity that way.
Oh yes, the joys of an old cool house!
And thank you Andy! 😊
Hello Penny, I laughed at the antidotes of an American who lives in the UK. That’s me too a tee, open windows when it’s hot and put the washing out!
I’m against air con due to how much power they use and don’t think they are good for the planet but totally get why people have them if the live in a country where you know a hot summer is on the cards every year.
We lived in a house with shutter once, a perfect solution to keeping the sun out and the house cool.
Love your summer dresses, all look very cool and easy to wear on hot days
I know, it was very true of our respective national characteristics – hanging the washing out versus turning on the air con!
I get that in some places it is imperative to have air con , but I am hoping that as a nation we don’t go down that route, particularly if you prevent the sun from beaming on the window by having an outside shutter.
Thanks so much re: the kind words about the dresses 😊
Love all your dresses…wrinkles are part of the charm of light weight clothes, especially linen. I too
enjoy clothes that have been hung out – to air dry. And since you have reminded me of that pleasure, I will start to do that again. I am only a couple weeks away from household chores – mending from broken leg/ankle. Here in Florida it is hard to imagine living without AC, but I grew up in rural Illinois, and we never had anything but one fan and the breeze. Luckily I lived up a lane on a hill with trees, so it was pretty comfortable. Thanks for sharing as I very much enjoy your thoughts.
Hi Jean and it must have been good to grow up in rural Illinois – hopefully it still is cool enough to go without AC. Florida would be too much for me. Holidaying in hot areas is now not so pleasant but I believe that even in Norway they get hot summers now. 9 years ago we went up to the north of Norway and it was snowing!!! I wonder if it is the same now.
I agree that linen always has wrinkles, but the orange dress needs a press. After I’ve done that, I will be happy with the odd wrinkle after wearing it.
Thanks for those kind words about the blog 😊
We have lived on the Med for about 20+ years and the summers have been getting much hotter over the last three years. We benefit from the sea breeze but we do get the humidity as well and the hot Saharan wind. This summer has been horrendous with July temps rising to 30 + very quickly. At the moment we have escaped to the Basque Country in our campervan for the cool but have been foiled. 38 this afternoon!
At home, our windows are open until the sun creeps near, then closed, awnings out over the larger ones and shutters down following the sun’s progress. Everything opens up as we get to sunset. We have to use AC but do so sparingly.
I think we may well be isolated in our homes in future summers.
I agree with you about the change in the last 3 years. Our apartment used to be cool in the summer and warm in winter – the insulation coped well with our country’s weather. But over the last 3 years the front south facing rooms, despite closing the curtains and pulling the indoor blinds down, are too hot for comfort. We need external shutters – and I feel campaign coming on! Because our Housing Association management will not allow us to do things to the exterior of our abode.
Fortunately both our rooms facing north are cooler but not by much. For the moment it is cooler finding a coffee shop with AC to sit in! Our lives are going to be very much impacted shortly. It is a shame that companies and indeed the government doesn’t move and/or change quickly.
Thanks Jennifer 😊
Hi, Penny – 80 degrees sounds good to me by now, because we’ve had such a hot summer here in the American Midwest that it has been in the 90’s F with high humidity. I don’t feel it’s possible to be without air conditioning in this kind of summer. In past summers, we’ve had temps above 100. On these hot days, I choose between a dress or a caftan. Thanks for sharing – Angie, http://www.yourtrueselfblog.com
Definitely wear that orange dress, the colour looks great on you! I’m not really a dress wearer…I’m too big and suffer from ‘chub rub’, so tend to wear shorts or 3/4 length cotton or linen trousers instead. I’ve even been up to London twice in the last 2 weeks and have not taken any sort of jacket or cardi with me, unheard of when l was working! Love the trees stats, which, like you, l think l can meet, though my garden is too small for big trees. I also draw my curtains and keep the windows closed on the sunny side, but open them in the evening. I do think that external shutters will start to become more of a feature here as these hot summers continue!
Thanks re: the kind words about the orange dress – I shall wear it tomorrow (Tuesday) as the day is forecast to be hotter than today. But I will give it a quick overall press before I go out!
I remember years ago when I lived in Brighton and worked in London not taking a cardi to work one day as the forecast said it was going to be warm, but no, it did not get warm and I absolutely froze!!!
We too now pull down the blinds in the south-facing rooms – it’s an absolutely necessity! But. The glass in the windows gets so very hot. And that heat radiates into the room – something outside to prevent the sun hitting the glass will one day become essential.
Thanks Alison 😊
Despite pulling the blinds down and making the room dark – our south facing sitting room is far too hot to be in. And that is at just under 80C(26F) at 76.4F (24.7C). It’s really unpleasant. Fortunately our north facing rooms are cooler. Wow, you have humidity alongside high temperatures!
The thing is AC is rare in our housing. Hardly anyone has it. I don’t know anyone who does. So we have an opportunity to not go down the route of AC. Let’s see what happens over the next few years.
Thanks Angie 😊
Here in coastal southern California, it usually gets very warm in late summer and early fall, but this year has been surprisingly mild so far. We expect the heat to ramp up soon, though. Our small house, built in the 1920’s and not at all air tight, gets quite hot on the south and west facing sides. We close up in the heat of the day and open up in the mornings and evenings. One bedroom window stays open all night (with security bars cause we’re big-city folk). No AC but lots of fans! We also air dry most of our wash except for towels. No scratchy towels, please!
Love your linen dresses, Penny, especially the orange one. You look so cool and comfortable. BTW, I think the wrinkles in linen are part of its charm.
Hi Shelly and how nice to live where you are, and amazing that it’s been mild so far, I expect that’s because you are coastal. I find it interesting that as an American you don’t have AC – good for you. And yes, we too have a fan and it’s great as it’s a rotating column and very effective.
You know I don’t mind line dried towels as I quite like the exfoliating effect!
Yes, that orange dress is fab but I do think it could have an overall press – after that I won’t mind the wrinkles.
Thanks Shelly 😊
Love those dresses in your Autumn shades, particularly the orange. I can see 3 trees from your home: and we do have around 30% tree canopy in the neighbourhood. But it’s still very hot! I’ll be so glad when the temperature becomes reasonable again.
Interesting that nearly everyone has commented on the orange dress and I haven’t worn it yet 😁
I am always amazed when Americans talk about 90+ temps being commonplace and with humidity! That would be unsurvivable without AC, I can see why they have it and yet….. I can’t begin to imagine 40+C in the UK. My word how we would have to adapt.
Here’s to more trees and thick walls and outside shutters. And just maybe younger generations around the world will change things for the better.
Thanks Gail 😊
I wouldn’t worry about wrinkles – linen and linen look fabrics are meant to crease….. aren’t they? I live in a second floor flat surrounded by trees (I say I live in a tree house because it feels as if I live in the tree tops especially in summer). I am noticing though that some of them are beginning to change colour already and then read that this is probably due to the dry summer. I’ve been interested in all the advice from people. I could not afford to install shutters but I am closing my blinds in the day and only opening the windows in the cool of the evening. Quite different from the advice of my youth when we opened all the windows on a sunny day somehow thinking the fresh air would make it cooler! Love your dresses. The Dress Agency buy was obviously a good investment. Looks very classy
Hi – yes I too almost like the wrinkles in linen but the orange dress needs an overall press first before I wear it and then it’ll be OK to have a few wrinkles!
Yes, I too have seen some trees changing colour – it has to be the hotter weather and the lack of rain. And didn’t we just always open windows – it feels very odd not to!
That last dress was a good find, I think.
Thanks Andy 😊
I had been reading about the UK temps and also the extreme heat in Europe . I guess as an Aussie it does sound normal to me. That said our Tassie summers are generally much milder than the mainland states and we are fortunate to live in an older Victorian house . We don’t have air con as such but reversal heating / cooling , which is only occasionally used in Summer . I have come across the outside shutters in Europe but they are a rarity here.
I do like your dresses , especially the last one. Hope it cools for you soon.
The reversal heating/cooling pump is available here but is quite a new concept. I do hope we go down that road as that is far better than aircon.
The heat in Europe is far worse than here but to a certain extent European countries are adapted to hot summers – we just complain about weather as per usual and do very little to actually change things. The advice is look out for your elderly neighbours and drink more water. It is, however, different to the heat of the summers when I was young. Also there was always so many days when it rained – not so now.
What we don’t hear is how housing needs to be adapted to the future far hotter days. I keep banging on about outside shutters, which are not a thing in the UK, but just this weekend I read about an apartment block built in London that indeed had electronic outside shutters. Wow – that has to be a first. Hope that trend continues.
The Foil dress is great and linen is best for this weather.
Thanks Jill 😊