Easy ideas for putting hair up/back, please?

I put mine into a pony tail but double the hair up on the last twist of the scrunchie to make a messy bun.

I echo Pittcity - it's what I tend to do. And as for whether you did the right thing over the long, hot summer, I would say you did the best thing! Long hair can be tied up, and kept away from the forehead and neck. Shorter hair, on the other hand, has to stay there. I remember a holiday in the Greek islands some years ago when I'd decided to cut my long hair into a chin length bob. Boy did I regret that in the Mediterranean heat! Too short to tie back really, but I actually resorted to putting it in too ridiculous looking paintbrush pigtails because I couldn't bear it

Mine is in a high ponytail and then twisted around around and pinned to make a messy bun.
You could also use a big clip just twist your hair into a ‘rope’ pull it upwards and put a big clip on it, my hair is too thick though to use these and they break and ping off.
Had mine cut short a couple of times and regretted it instantly, my hairdresser has a note on my file to ignore me if I tell her to cut it short.

Thank you all. I'll have a go with the scrunchie and the messy bun. Would ordinary hair grips work with this, or do I need a different type of clip?

Asda do a claw clip specially for extra thick hair, £3.50 I think. It's good for my thick mop.

Have a look at a site called African Beauty. They have beaded double combs which are so easy to use and look very attractive. You can buy them from Amazon too but this site has lots of choices or style and colour