What has happened to us?

Last time I visited my son in Sydney the temperature reached 43C one day. Even the air-con was struggling, so we all de-camped to the local shopping mall for the afternoon. Blissfully cool.
In contrast, I was laughing at my Peruvian SIL this morning. They also live in Australia, where it is now their 'winter.' When Facetime-ing he was muffled up, in the house, in a sweater, fleece jacket and a large woolly hat. The temperature was 15C, and he was 'freezing!'

I've been in a few countries where they mist the air around shopping centres. In Dubai they created a ski slope. apparently everything stops in Dubai when it reaches 50c by law. Don't think we have much to complain about.

I saw the "student buys car and blames someone else" story too.

It actually made me quite angry.

The thought of an adult buying (or leasing, in this case) an item which she clearly cannot afford then having the gall to try to blame the lender beggars belief.

Was it Coco Chanel or Wallis Simpson who said "There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes."?
More importantly, given the proclivity of young people for hurling themselves into rivers and lakes without a thought, but at considerable danger - sometimes fatal - to themselves, isn't it time
that the government sanctioned FREE SWIMMING during heatwaves?
This would be financed from central coffers.

Good fun reading all this, because I felt that the OP was just making a little bit of fun; these days we are constantly being told how to act. 'Drink plenty, wear a hat, stay in the cool' all really common sense, but we are becoming more and more of a nanny state, where if anything goes wrong you can always blame someone else, or even sue !
What I really hate when the sun shines is the men who seem to think it is o.k. to strip to the waist, never mind the pot belly, or the hair, and there are some who also think it is o.k. to have a cigarette hanging from one corner of their mouths. Oh dear, I have just described my neightbour

We're getting advice because it's unusual weather, not because it's hotter than other places. Most Brits don't understand why holiday places close up in the middle of the day, a part of foreign culture based on repetition of hot weather.

So keep the children hydrated, and please buy a homeless person a bottle of water.

Urmstongran - you’re very gloomy. Just let us enjoy the good weather while we can. I think we know how to take care of ourselves. It seems to me it’s the young people who are most reckless - and was ever this.

Wonder how many bulletins about how to stay cool and survive are issued in places like the Middle East. I do know that a central part of Dubai has water spraying from the top of a tower block. As it falls it turns into a mist with the heat and basically cools the air by the time it reaches ground level and has evaporated completely. Folk walking about don't even know it's happening. In the UK folk seem to lose all sense of sun awareness as soon as it appears, stripping off, drinking alcohol in gardens nearly as long as the sun is out, applying suncream once a day. Global warming will soon sort out the problem of over population in this fair land.

Last summer DH and I were with our family, attending an outsides school event in California. Most of the seating was in the hot sun. Our family had hats, long sleeves, sunglasses, suncream and water. I was surprised to see that many families had none of these - they were visibly turning red. (I'm also shocked at the amount of adults (in UK & USA) who don't think to put sunglasses on their children. I note that adults frequently wear them, while pushing round toddlers who have no protection for their young & vulnerable eyes.) And in the UK every summer, it seems thst there's always at least one tragic death from people swimming unwisely in rivers or lakes. In my view, if the State reminding people of sensible precautions prevents just one death, or serious injury, then it makes sense!

Sometimes it is good to be reminded.
We were in London during a heatwave about 20 years ago.
My mum fainted.
This is a woman who has lived in very hot countries all over the world without any problems.
Don’t think the young need to be reminded to drink water though. They don’t seem to be able to move without a bottle of water.

I live in the melanoma capital of the world. Anything that encourages people to be responsible when out in hot sun seems good to me.

I suspect that one of the problems with the UK is that it rarely – at least, up until now – experiences extreme temperatures, whether very hot in summer or freezing cold in winter. Both can be hugely damaging in very different ways.

People who live in places where winters are invariably bitter and well below freezing have houses, shops, offices and clothes designed to deal with it and systems in place to clear ice and snow so transport is not disrupted. People who live in places where summer temperatures are high have similar, but opposite plans in place.

It used to be "Phew what a scorcher!" Now, I am laughing just as much at a headline telling me the temperatures have "Soard to 34 degrees!"

Soared?

The TUC state employees should be sent home if the temperature reaches 27ºC and 30º is supposedly dangerous.

Blimey, do they really think life comes to a sticky, sweaty halt in countries which (like NZ) regularly work hard through this and far higher temperatures?

It's just common sense , all that advice about the weather . I live in a place where it gets up into the 40's every summer but nobody dies from it. You take sensible precautions, drink a lot, rest in the middle of the day etc.

Goodmama...clearly I don't have one, as I see no trick, just a thread!

I’m starting to wonder if this isn’t some kind of Jedi mind trick.

Bridgeit

Yes Janeainsworth it was?

Seems like some of us will find just about anything to complain about, even the most ridiculous Who are you complaining about, Goodmama?
I assumed Bridgeit’s OP was written tongue in cheek

Grandad1943 your post has made me chuckle!!!

Hydration is important all year round, so for every glass of vino, I have a glass of water at least twice as large!!!

I heard that report too Nonnie and had my student son in the car with me. The woman was talking nonsense because if her daughter had, as she alleged, taken out a loan or finance agreement on a car there would have been (a) credit and affordability checks and (b) with all finance agreements there is a 14 day cooling off period so when her daughter came home, announced she had bought a brand new car, they, the responsible parents, should have told her to cancel it.

Seems like some of us will find just about anything to complain about, even the most ridiculous.

Agree with most posters.....people are just plain daft when it comes to sun! You see it abroad don't you? Brits coming from temps of say 15 degrees into temps exceeding 30 and immediately lying out for hours on end with a supply of beer!!!! (Then when they get ill, they blame the hotel!)

You would hope most people would get the message by now that too much sun can be dangerous ...but they don't. I think a lot of people don't understand the difference between sunburn and sunstroke t.b.h. They feel if they slap on factor 10 then they are doing their bit

I don't see anything wrong with reminding people t.b.h. then if they don't listen it is up to them. Pet owners should wisen up also as many don't realise animals can suffer sunstroke.

My sister maintained the day time tv was what was wrong with the country!

Last year we were required to attend DGD and DGS’s Sports Day, as their parents had gone off to a rock concert.
This was in the broiling heat of Staffordshire.
We had been instructed to take our own picnic chairs, rugs etc.
The school field had a clearly demarcated area of shade next to some trees, where all the families parked themselves.
As the morning word on, the sun came round and the area of shade inexorably got smaller, until we were all crammed into a very small crescent of shade.
Thankfully the proceedings were over by about 2 pm and we were able to go home

When the DC were young, and we used to attend cricket matches, the most common sight, when the sun was out, was the English male, usually in his vest - sometimes without it - turning an unattractive shade of scarlet. I hope the message about covering up has got through in this century, though somehow I doubt it.