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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

walnut Mon 13-Feb-17 00:53:54

was 10 when the the heatwave occurred,cant remember much just that we lived in a shop which luckily was cool but I can remember selling out of ice drinks we froze for the heat went down very well with everyone

clarabella3 Mon 13-Feb-17 01:02:02

I don't remember it.

TONKATOL Mon 13-Feb-17 01:16:00

We moved house later that year and so we didn't go away for a summer holiday so I spent most of the time playing in the back garden. One day in the summer, my brother was playing swingball and was sitting on my large polystyrene dice at the same time (must have been about 80cm square). I wanted to play swingball with my brother but, when he wouldn't let me, I insisted he gave me my dice back. I went to collect the dice at the same time as he lifted the bat to smack the ball - unfortunately it was my browbone the bat hit - I spent most of the summer with my eye decorated various shades of colours from the massive bruise.

Jenniipenny31 Mon 13-Feb-17 01:47:28

I would love to give you an a paragraph of my memories of 1976 but unfortunately I don't remember at all. I was young and carefree.

dkpcrox Mon 13-Feb-17 05:20:44

I worked in a bakery at the time and I dreaded going to work each day. The fresh cream cakes went off almost immediately so had to be withdrawn from sale for weeks on end. Icing and chocolate just ran all over the place so those cakes also had to be removed from sale.

tmmyhilly Mon 13-Feb-17 06:20:38

I was 12 and lived in Hampshire at the time and I remember my friends and I going for a bike ride during the height of the summer. We stopped by a stream and cooled down by messing about in the water.

lsaemc Mon 13-Feb-17 08:24:09

I remember a holiday in Dorset, walking up to Corfe Castle in the searing heat, and that the summer seemed to go on forever, lovely x

woodlepage Mon 13-Feb-17 08:30:45

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Davy61 Mon 13-Feb-17 08:34:57

I remember a visit to Brighton in 1976 and an explosion of Ladybirds everywhere - covering shop windows and piled up along the seafront!

aligiraffe Mon 13-Feb-17 08:52:25

I was 6 & we went to Cornwall on our anual summer holiday. I have pics of me & my brother building sandcastles on the beach & both of us were wearing t-shirts as we had gotten sunburnt on our first day there. Mum always made us wear hats as we had really dark hair but never really bothered with suncream back then. I just remember being really hot in our chalet & not being able to sleep.

ZoeMackie86 Mon 13-Feb-17 09:59:08

I dont personally remember it by my dad said my Mum moaned all the way through planning their wedding, he should have got out then as hes had a life time on moaning since haha xx

COG Mon 13-Feb-17 10:27:15

Heat Wave...oh no we had 3 weeks or rain as we toured Scotland in our caravan

molly57 Mon 13-Feb-17 11:29:10

I came all the way down from Scotland to Devon for a holiday. As I had never been out of Scotland before it was a shock to see such red dry soil on the journey and stand pipes in Devon. Despite that I cam e to live in Devon for good a year later I loved it so much.

GeorgeW Mon 13-Feb-17 11:57:19

I wasn't in the UK for the summer of '76 but I know it was super hot & sticky!

jamielmdjs Mon 13-Feb-17 11:57:55

The outdoor pool near us was absolutely mobbed but it was the only place to be. Felt like the continent.

MiniMouse Mon 13-Feb-17 12:28:26

1976 Setting up our tent near Bodmin Moor on the day the heatwave ended ??Then it rained. And rained. And rained ??

SorchaGransnet (GNHQ) Mon 13-Feb-17 13:55:31

Thanks for all your memories - I've really enjoyed reading them and being whisked away to (mostly) warmer times sunshine

This discussion is now closed and the winner is... jusnoneed! Congratulations flowers Do check your emails for more details.

cathyd Mon 13-Feb-17 14:17:02

my daughter was born late June and had a high temperature in the heatwave. She was in hospital for a week and I was travelling by bus four times a day to breast feed her, not a great way to spend your day in the heat I assure you.

Edite Mon 13-Feb-17 14:39:36

I was stuck in a school hall-cum-oven, attempting my A-levels

sarahw2 Mon 13-Feb-17 15:59:35

Heatwaves seem like a distant memory these days!

carpathian Mon 13-Feb-17 18:16:23

not likely I may be a grandma but in the summer of 76 I was 2 years old I'm a young grandma lol would have to ask my mum a very young great grandma at 60

Blueangel55 Mon 13-Feb-17 19:11:44

Our neighbour next door used to sneak out under the cover of darkness to water her lawn, although there was a hosepipe ban!

thehumblerah Mon 13-Feb-17 20:02:08

At my aunties with my cousins squirting each other with water from washing up bottles and getting thoroughly soaked!!

corriec123 Mon 13-Feb-17 20:17:56

I was three and my mum was pregnant with my twin sisters, needless to say things were a bit uncomfortable for her.
I remember going for a walk at a local reservoir which was so low you could see the village they had flooded when it was built

princesspamma Mon 13-Feb-17 20:18:10

We were living in South Africa, and while we kept getting letters from my grandmother telling us about the hosepipe ban, and how her garden was shrivelling, and she was suffering in the heat it was winter there in the Southern Hemisphere, and every morning i would cycle to school in the early mornings, almost blinded by the harsh light, unable to feel my fingers or toes from the bone cold air!!!