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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

chimpbob Sun 12-Feb-17 19:48:24

My son was 4 and we paddled all day in the back yard in bowls of water trying to keep cool.

alison161 Sun 12-Feb-17 19:51:00

I was 10 years old and had a fantastic holiday at Butlins in Pwellehli - fantastic time

Teresa1963 Sun 12-Feb-17 19:51:47

I remember it well as my eldest sister was pregnant with her first and use to take over our nephews paddling pool to sit in , poor Dean hardly played in the pool that year bless him

SIDNEY65 Sun 12-Feb-17 20:06:09

I was still at school and it was the longest hottest summer that I remember.

glmcall123 Sun 12-Feb-17 20:24:29

I was still at school. We were allowed to take our chairs outside to watch sports day practice. The tarmac was so hot the back legs of our chairs were sinking.

cathyov Sun 12-Feb-17 20:40:00

A long hot summer holiday with lots of visits to our local outdoor swimming pool where there never seemed to be any restrictions and we had lots of fun.

toodles60 Sun 12-Feb-17 20:41:54

I remember it smile I was fifteen and i remember snapshots of Mr Williams ice cream van that came around every day and i would get something called an oyster shell filled with mr whippy ice cream. We had long days of playing in the garden with swings and a paddling pool. at weekends we always went to the free outdoor swimming pools we had in plymouth at the time. The summer seemed to go on forevery back then

forestheather Sun 12-Feb-17 20:59:02

I was saving up for my wedding dress and got a second job washing up in an hotel.

silversand12 Sun 12-Feb-17 21:24:07

No I don't remember the heatwave of 76, so a lot of use I am!!

Bellroyd Sun 12-Feb-17 21:24:18

In France, having a whale of a time. Merveilleux!

Buddie Sun 12-Feb-17 21:30:28

In 1976 I was pregnant and I can remember I was still wearing sleeveless dresses when my son was born at the end of October. A trip to the beach with out daughter during August in actuality meant hours in a hot car in queues as everyone else had the same thought of a way how to keep cool.

yd1556 Sun 12-Feb-17 21:33:18

Ahhh....1976! The year I married and the year I was admitted to hospital with appendicitis, exactly three weeks before (and over two hundred miles away) from my wedding venue.

Keithymon88 Sun 12-Feb-17 21:42:28

I was doing my `o`-levels at the time and I recall sitting with a hundred other sweating souls in the confines of the City Hall in Salisbury and when we left the hall, as hot as it was inside, we were met by a blast of furnace heat as we stumbled out into the sunlight, having given our all we just collapsed in the shade of an elm tree.

GrandmaMoira Sun 12-Feb-17 21:56:31

I was on holiday abroad when we had the hottest spell, so I missed it. I remember taking my tights off at the end of the day at work in central London to travel home bare legged - we weren't allowed to be bare legged at work. I don't remember being particularly uncomfortable, I was usually cold until I hit menopause.

Compermo Sun 12-Feb-17 21:59:08

I had a 2 year old and a 5 year old, so they spent a lot of time in the blow up paddling pool in the garden and I spent most of my time trying to keep them in the shade. We are not well equipped for that kind of intense heat, so it was very tiring, although looking out at the grey days and snow now, it has a certain appeal!

leanfun Sun 12-Feb-17 22:10:58

I remember being pregnant in the heat of 1976 with our second daughter. Then our little girl would not feed. She became dehydrated and had to be fed constantly only taking tiny drops at a time. By the end of August her feeding had improved enough for us to go on holiday and then it immediately started to rain for the whole ten days.

bc1616 Sun 12-Feb-17 22:15:55

Starting secondary school...too hot summer though

chirag12 Sun 12-Feb-17 22:23:14

taking the boys to margate and to keep cool instead of eating ice cream they put it on their body !! still got the pictures

quadrant Sun 12-Feb-17 22:25:37

I remember it really well- it,s the summer I graduated & got married! It was an amazing time,beautiful weather,people actually enjoying a British holiday.

Appy Sun 12-Feb-17 22:33:44

It was the year I got married. It was in August and it was hotter here than in Greece! Phew! I can't remember another summer like it.

susanmcmurray Sun 12-Feb-17 22:39:04

We were in Torquay on holiday with our three year old daughter. Trying to keep her cool was hard work. We just spent most of the time playing in the sea. My husband burnt his legs so badly we had to go to a chemist for advice. He had used a sun cream that had reacted on his skin and caused the burn. Our daughter was fine she didn't have any sun burn. Since then I have always bought Clarins!!!

Sknightley04 Sun 12-Feb-17 22:43:41

That summer I was just a baby but I remember from old photos that the grass in the garden died and was just a brown patch, and there had to be standpipes in the streets.

gill81uk Sun 12-Feb-17 22:55:18

No I don't remember it but have heard older family members talking about how hard going it was!

kathleenpollio Sun 12-Feb-17 23:20:06

i was born in the 80 and i have not heard if this until now

Reebs456 Sun 12-Feb-17 23:55:46

Lol no as I wasn't even born!