SHARE TO SAVE A LIFE: YOUR HEATWAVE SURVIVAL PACKS 

You’ve complained all year about the weather. You’ve bemoaned your lack of tan, declared the rain too depressing for words and questioned the point of summer clothes when wearing a puffa coat in June. And yet – this is a big yet – now that the earth seems to have finally answered all your sunny prayers, you wish those prayers had never been made.

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Whether this is reasonable or not is besides the point. What we really need to do is face the reality of things. You tried the outside for a solid 45 minutes and besides gaining the complexion of an overripe tomato, gleaned no obvious benefits.

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But, luckily there are a handful of ways to remedy this situation, and I am here to explain them.

 

1. The heatwave hideaway

After being sent a string of envy-inducing Snapchats of a friend doing this, I tested it myself. And trust me, it’s epic. All you need to do is place a fan (preferably more than one) at the undone opening of a double duvet cover (bonus points if the duvet cover is fresh from the washing and still slightly damp). This provides you with a cool and airy den to scatter with soft furnishings as you require.

 

2. Soothing the sunburn

With tropical temperatures such as these, there are times when aftersun won’t cut it. To turn painful burn into tan, mix Aloe Vera gel (which can be bought in a tun or scooped from the inside of the plant’s leaves), softened coconut oil and olive oil. When kept in a covered container in the fridge, this super-moisturising mixture should be able to soothe even the worst sunburn.

 

3. Taking the edge off

I’m acutely aware that Durham students are likely to enjoy a chilled gin and tonic more than most. But wait until you try it’s ice lolly alter-ego. You can buy gin and tonic icelollies from some supermarkets but they’re much cheaper – and more alcoholic – when you make them yourself. Simply mix sugar water, gin and tonic (you can add sliced fruit or mint if you’re feeling less sluggish than the rest of us). Then, pour into an ice lolly mould (£4.49 from www.amazon.co.uk) and wait for an excruciating four hours.

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But remember, however much you feel the need to hide from the sun now, that it will soon be replaced by complaints about cooler weather. Happy summer!