Ah, my friends, gather round. Not you, the people playing frisbee outside, running about in the sunshine and laughing, drinking your Pimms and eating your picnics as the mighty orb of eternal power beams its burning fire at you. I'm talking to you, the people lying weeping on the floor inside, calling weakly for another ice lolly and a seventh fan as you check the long-range weather forecast to see when the heatwave will break, and wondering how much flights are to New Zealand.
I've rounded up some ways for you to stay cool over the next few weeks. Stay strong. It won't be long til you can put a cardigan on again.
It's easy to forget the importance of drinking water until you've fainted on the train. Avoid being the "person taken ill at Clapham Junction" by carrying this
Wild & Wolf water bottle, available for £9.95 from
Bloomsbury & Co. It's covered in cheering slogans in awesome fonts, typography nerds.
You can probably guess what a
chillow is from its name: a chilled pad that you lay on top of your normal pillow to help you sleep. It's like having the cool side of the pillow, all night long. Fill it with cold tap water once and let it absorb into the memory foam. It'll keep you cool all night, and magically be cold again by the time you go to bed. It's currently on offer at
Heal's at £22 for a regular sized one, or £16 for a small.
Umbrella shaped ice lolly moulds: reminding you that soon, there'll be a thunderstorm to reduce the humidity. They're £3.19 for six from
Captain Cooks. Check out Hazel's amazingly simple recipe to
create your own beautiful fruit lollies.
If you sleep with an eye mask anyway, then adding a cool pack is a no-brainer.
Daydream's sleep mask is made of breathable fabric - no more waking up with a sweaty nose (just me?) - and comes with a gel insert you can freeze before slipping it into the mask. It gets rave reviews on
Amazon - "you could LITERALLY look into the sun with this on and see NOTHING," trumpets one man. Buy yours for £8.10.
Origins Peace of Mind is meant for stress relief, but its cleansing minty smell feels like it's actually cooling you down. Dab a few drops onto the back of your neck, temples and earlobes, have a sit down, and breathe in deeply. It works like magic if you're stressed, headachy, or hot and bothered. At £13 it's not cheap, but lasts ages as you only need a tiny bit.
I always think I love hot weather - which I do, but only if I'm by a pool, drink in hand. I wilt anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteSo these tips sound great, definitely think I need to try out that Origins stuff.
OMG you wrote this JUST FOR ME! LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm with Frances - hot weather seems nice until you realise you still have to wear work-appropriate things and do your daily commute and go and sit in a stuffy office. Then it's horrible!
ReplyDeleteFrances and Allie - exactly, I don't mind it if I can lie on a beach drinking cocktails and plunging into the sea to cool off. But on the overcrowded 0809 to Blackfriars? No ta.
ReplyDeleteChristie - as a fellow hot weather hater, I am sweatily high-fiving you.
I thank you for this post as a normally hot weather avoiding person who is now rather quite pregnant and living on ice pops. My bank balance probably doesn't like this post but then again it has no real sentience so shouldn't be allowed an opinion... C.xx
ReplyDeleteOh Correen - being pregnant in summer sounds like hard work. I think you and your baby deserve a chillow (or two).
DeleteI want to love the sun, I really do. But I was sick yesterday and fainted at my desk in rather dramatic fashion. I was wearing a cute summery prom dress at the time, it was all a bit Jane Austen.
ReplyDelete