It seems to me that so far this summer, we have been getting away with it. We’ve not yet hit 40° in the courtyard, but we’re getting there. I noticed 37° the other afternoon at around four, but the humidity wasn’t too high, there was a slight breeze, and the temperature was just on ‘pleasant, but only for now.’ This morning at 04.45, it’s registering 28°, but after a windy night, it doesn’t feel too bad. The office, being little more than a concrete block, is still clammy and warm, even at this time of day, and so the fan is on, but otherwise, all is currently bearable. Mind you, I’m one of those who stays in all day working, and if I go out, it’s later in the afternoon or early in the morning, and I’m not seeking day trips or beach days, or even swimming.

Anyway, all this talk of summer and heat soon makes you forget what the colder winters are like, and the other day, I was thinking of the differences, the pros and cons of each season, if you like. It’s either winter or summer, with spring and autumn bringing almost incidental changes from one to the other, but there are benefits to both seasons, domestically speaking.

For example. At the height of winter, the bed is made up with a sheet, duvet and a blanket or two. As spring changes to summer, first off comes the blanket, and later, the duvet, leaving only the duvet cover or a sheet, and then, by summer, nothing at all. Come autumn, the process happens in reverse. This means the winter offers the chore of making the bed every day, while in the summer, you lie on it, sleep, and get up and get on.

In winter, it’s sometimes a case of sleeping in your clothes too, or at least some of them, for extra warmth. Going out involves dressing, adding layers, a coat, hat, gloves and all the accessories. In summer, I have three shirts and two pairs of shorts to choose from, so that’s easier, and there’s no need to spend time putting on socks and trainers, when sandals will do. So much less of a faff. Winter requires heating and the cost that goes with it, draught excluders at the doors and windows, towels down where the windows and roof leak even when treated and painted, and everything is closed against the cold. Summer? Doors wide open all day and sometimes all night, and the fans running because we don’t have air con. ‘Oh, you must get it!’ people say in that annoying way with the ‘must’ emphasised and said in a way that I find patronising — as if I hadn’t already thought of that, costed it (‘Oh, it’s not expensive, you must…’), and decided against it. We have two units, one in my office, which hasn’t been used in 10 years and one pointlessly in the mousandra, which we have never used. The fans do for us, thanks. This now being summer for sure, I put the spare one in the bathroom yesterday; as another concrete block, it doubles as a sauna at this time of year.

Summer does bring the worry of fire, of course, especially as we are surrounded by trees, grasses, and overgrown ruins and have no mains water supply with which to deal with any localised issues. We always keep two or three buckets of water on hand, but they are for days when/if the water doesn’t come in and the tank can’t be filled (bank holidays mainly), but you still have to think of precautions. No such worry in the winter. Summer to autumn offers plenty of sweeping practice as the vine, bougainvillaea, and others shed dead leaves from June through to November, throw them on the flagstones from where the wind drives them into the house. The warmer months also bring the dreaded Symi spiders prowling and scuttling across floors, walls and ceilings with no warning; ditto the roaches and other bugs. You don’t have to worry about them in the winter so much, which is just as well, as you’re too busy keeping warm.

Still, no matter the temperature, there are no complaints, just an interest in the differences each season brings. Right now, for example, I roll around the house topless all day, with a modesty shirt on hand for when Michaelis comes to read the electricity meter, or Lousie comes to sing, and in the winter, I have to type while wearing gloves. (Thermally heated by plugging them into a USB port on the laptop. The wonders of modern invention and cheap online shopping.)

[Place autumn photo here. I can’t. See PS below.]

And right now, at 05.15 with the fan running, I’m on my second cup of tea (a constant all year round, tea), and things are just perfect. We’re in for higher temps soon though, ‘they’ say, and I’ll let you know how that goes.

PS. It’s not started well. I just uploaded one photo, went to my folder of Symi photos, selected the one I’d used, deleted it, and the whole folder went, never to return. It was on a data stick, and before you ask, it’s done this before, and no, I can’t get them back, not even with retrieval software. Other files went too, like my photos of our Christmas trip last year, though, luckily, I have a copy of those. Ah well. I’ll have to start the collection again.