Summer

I think I can safely say that Summer has now arrived. We can't complain, really; it's been very pleasant (other than a couple of days in late May) right up to last Thursday.

Since then it's been consistently hot, and getting humid. I suppose 32 in the shade isn't excessively hot [it's about 88F], but it's more than I can cope with easily. Thankfully our house always stays a degree or two cooler - it was designed for summer, not winter - so we haven't yet had to use the air conditioning. Just as well, really, because it doesn't seem to be working. We had trouble with it in heat mode all winter. The engineer came and fixed various things; he was always helpful and friendly, and didn't charge much. But he never managed to get it working. On his final visit he didn't charge anything, and by then it was getting warmer so we managed with small electric heaters, and hoped the cooling would work in the summer.

Yesterday we had friends from Limassol here for the day, and although we sat outside in the morning it was too hot in the afternoon. So we thought we'd try the a/c even though it wasn't entirely necessary. The room thermometer was showing 27.7 degrees so we set the a/c to 26. We could feel it blowing air, which seemed cool, and when Richard went to check the outside unit, it was certainly letting water and heat out. But half an hour later the room thermometer said 28.3, and as I watched it, it climbed to 28.4. Richard tried setting the a/c really low, to about 20 degrees, but it made no difference.

So we just used a fan which was quite effective in moving air about the room and cooling us, and realised we'll have to call the a/c engineer again soon. Or perhaps find someone else, as it's entirely possible he oozes confidence and friendliness without actually knowing what he's doing. This is Cyprus, after all...

My computer is still in the study/guest room where it lives most of the year round. I have a big fan which is pointed at the computer to keep it cooler, since computers become unreliable over about 30C. Once the a/c is working we'll move it into the living/dining room, which is where we have the a/c unit, but there's no point doing so now.

It's very windy outside but it's not a pleasant breeze, it feels muggy and tiring.

We're told that the UK has had a heatwave in the last couple of days, up to about 29C in the daytime. Not so different from here, but of course it won't last there. Whereas here it's set to stay at least 30C, probably more, until September. Overnight it drops to about 20-25, which isn't so bad; we haven't ever needed air conditioning in the bedrooms yet. We just sleep with quilt covers (no quilt) over us and fans running.

The humidity is the worst thing. I hate feeling sticky, but it's a fact of summer here. It seems to get worse in the afternoons, and more so in the evenings, even though it's fully dark by about 8.30pm. I miss the long evenings of the UK in summer - by this time of year back in Birmingham it's not really dark till about 10.30pm.