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Win a Kindle Paperwhite worth over £100 plus a copy of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep **NOW CLOSED**

(602 Posts)
SorchaGransnet (GNHQ) Mon 16-Jan-17 15:23:26

To celebrate the publication of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, a charming coming-of-age debut novel by Joanna Cannon, we're giving you the chance to win a Kindle Paperwhite.

Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. The neighbours blame the disappearance on the heatwave, but ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly aren't so sure.

As the summer shimmers endlessly on, the girls decide to start their own investigation. And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives find more than they imagined.

Joanna Cannon graduated from Leicester Medical School and worked as a hospital doctor, before specialising in psychiatry. She lives in the Peak District with her family and her dog.

To be in with a chance of winning a Kindle Paperwhite worth over £100 & a copy of the book, tell us - do you remember the heatwave of '76? If so, what are your memories of it?

Post your entry below by midday Monday 13 February.

Usual T&Cs apply.

This discussion is sponsored by HarperCollins

celia1951 Sun 12-Feb-17 11:14:06

Remember it well, numerous heath fires and one that nearly reached the hospital where I worked. All the patients had to be evacuated and the brave firefighters all stood in a line determined to save the hospital, which they did.

Liosach Sun 12-Feb-17 11:37:17

I remember a glorious holiday in the Isle of Coll...boat trips with my grandparents and beach excursions with the whole family

Jezzamk Sun 12-Feb-17 12:23:13

I remember a long hot summer that broke the week we went on holiday. A few days in and there were massive thunder storms and torrential rain.

Not good becuase I was petrified of thunder storms.

dmcd13 Sun 12-Feb-17 14:18:34

working in a room with no windows all through the summer......I lived for the weekends

galadrial Sun 12-Feb-17 14:25:35

I remember the Summer of 76 as a great never ending Summer. The down side was having to help my Grandma get the water out of the bath to water the veg in the garden. The fun side me and my cousin Karen going to the park everyday and sunbathing, having a fab tan, short shorts and cheesecloth tops, we thought we looked the bees knees. Stopping on the way back in the shop to get icecream, pop or frozen tip tops. Happy days!

ruralhelen Sun 12-Feb-17 14:37:15

Trying to keep my little son cool. The paddling pool was never put away lol

paperbackbutterfly Sun 12-Feb-17 15:08:06

We went to Blackpool and lay on the beach. My sunburn was so bad I swelled up and my dad in law burnt the soles of his feet! Hubby got stung by a jellyfish and mom in law got food poisoning so we spent every day going to A and E, the nurses got to know us that week.

suzieo1 Sun 12-Feb-17 15:20:01

I was taking my exams. It made it even harder! As an exception, we were allowed to losen our school ties and take off our blazers!

Edenar Sun 12-Feb-17 15:23:12

Doing my 11 plus and going to a new school!

jeanio Sun 12-Feb-17 16:09:04

My daughter, my second child was born the year before and I remember my trouble trying to balance the children wanting to run around the garden in the glorious sunshine in their swimming trunks and nappies and playing in the paddling pool whilst trying to apply sun protection and keep them in the shade. Still it was a wonderful summer.

CompGirl23 Sun 12-Feb-17 16:11:52

My memories of 76 are sitting final exams at primary school and being told to bring in battery fans for our desk and water to keep us cool.

molpol40 Sun 12-Feb-17 16:20:27

i was in secondary school and remember we still had to wear our full school uniform and do PE in even that heat

suzybe Sun 12-Feb-17 16:29:29

Being on holiday on a boat on the Norfolk Broads with my family and some friends. Being so careful that my boys didn't get sunburnt that I forgot to be as careful myself and got burnt for the only time in my life. Our car breaking down on the way home and letting our friend take the dog and luggage home while we took our boys on a very long multi train journey to get back to London and waiting for my parents to collect us as we had no money for the last leg of our journey. Finally getting home to standpipes in the street. Those were the days!

karpet Sun 12-Feb-17 16:38:19

I was 10 at the time, we spent nearly every day at the beach but what i remember the most was my dad and our neighbours having a water fight with their hose pipes, my mum had a right go at dad cos her kitchen floor got a right soaking, but it was such fun watching these grown ups acting like kids

susan65 Sun 12-Feb-17 16:53:25

On a visit to Bridlington, there were Ladybirds everywhere. Trying our best to avoid walking on them on the pavements.

carol810 Sun 12-Feb-17 16:53:43

It was my then boyfriends works cricket day and off we went in a coach for 3 hours, an older style one that didn't have windows that opened or skylights.We got there and the tournament was going for 6 hours which was lovely in the sunshine but there was nowhere to shade and I ended up with heat stroke and bad burns as I hadn't thought to take a cardigan or cover.

supernannyjane Sun 12-Feb-17 17:10:26

It's funny what you remember - My mum bought a new Mini (in a particularly revolting shade of green) that summer and I remember the rust-proofing tar-like gunk underneath not setting for weeks and weeks because of the heat. We also met up with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins for a caravanning holiday by the Thames in Oxfordshire. My cousin Sheena and I seemed to spend most of the time floating in the river on lilos keeping cool whilst trying not to get mown down by pleasure craft....I know it's a bit of a cliche, but it seems like yesterday - yet we're both about to become grannies in June!

SHORTMAN Sun 12-Feb-17 17:37:29

I was 19 and on holiday from university. I remember rushing home from my holiday job every evening, my mother would have run a bath for me so that the tank would refill before the water was turned off (we were on rationing)

bikerbill Sun 12-Feb-17 17:38:06

We spent two weeks camping with our four year old son during the heatwave and the tent seemed to be red hot all the time. It certainly made a change from the rain pitter pattering on the tent roof we usually had on our camping holidays

Coolgran65 Sun 12-Feb-17 18:03:07

The summer of 76 was a very mixed bag for me. Both horrible and wonderful. In particular the month of June 1976.

The horrible part - Following several nightmare years my dh was eventually confirmed as being paranoid schizophrenic and unlikely to ever be able to work or cope with life in general. I stuck it out a further 19 years.

And the wonderful part - my one and only child was born. I didn't know how I'd cope with a baby and his father who on another planet and unable/incapable of giving any support or help.

I needn't have worried. I did well and baby thrived.

At about 10 days old I took him to the Baby Clinic to be weighed - I was so embarrassed. All the babies were beautifully dressed. As we each waited our turn I looked around, my gorgeous baby was odd one out wearing only his (towelling) nappy, with towelling pants over it and a little baby vest.
Then it was my turn and the nurse held my son and called for 'attention everyone'. Nurse continued.... "This is a child dressed as he should be. Dressed for comfort and not for style. Well done mum !! "

I was 27 years old, my marriage was crumbling, and I was doing my best to be the best mum I could be.

That nurse will never know how much her words meant to me.

sandraelt Sun 12-Feb-17 18:04:38

Myself & a neighbour would take the children to school, then spend almost all day sunbathing in our gardens.
By the end of summer we both looked as though we had spent the summer on a Spanish beach.
Strange that now I wouldn't dream of doing it!

HelenRobinson Sun 12-Feb-17 18:45:48

I was 18 and just started work for the BBC in London and it was so hot i fainted on my first day at work. not a good start!

mulgrove Sun 12-Feb-17 18:50:46

No i was not born untill 82 but my mum says it was awful lol she could not stand it she said there was swans of ladybirds every where she had never seen so many,

SylviaP Sun 12-Feb-17 18:54:02

I was in my first year at school and the only memory I have is the teacher telling us not to waste water and we could only have a few inches in our baths.

Carolann99 Sun 12-Feb-17 19:09:28

I remember it well. The government appointed a Minister for Rain. We were having central heating installed - poor guys were so hot.
Lots of garden plants died. I bought an amusing sticker for the back window of my car 'Save Water - Bath with a Friend' It got loads of comments!