It was the year I was taking my O levels - I sat in the garden next to my mother's rose bushes, and revised for my exams. The sun burned into my skin and I secretly stole oil from the kitchen, and smeared it over my legs in order to look suntanned and exotic, while, at the same time, learning about the Tudors, and the life cycle of the Cabbage White butterfly.
The summer of 1976 seemed endless, as did revision for my exams. When the exam results were published the sun was still shining, and my parents, as a reward, allowed me to go to the beach on my own with my friend, Lynne. We sat and giggled, and felt sophisticated and grown up in our matching lemon coloured bikinis.
The summer was over all too soon, with the weather breaking on the bank holiday Monday, just before my return to the sixth form.
Ah, yes, I remember it as though it were yesterday. Where have all the summers since 1976 gone?