The sunny weather has kept us all sane during the pandemic – shame it won’t last

At least during lockdown we had the sunshine and the park to keep us cheerful, says Jenny Eclair. But with the rain clouds rolling in, the country is likely to take a massive psychological turn for the worse

Children cool themselves in fountains during a heatwave (EPA)

Oof it was hot though wasn’t it? It was so hot for so long that we lost count of the cloudless blue sky days and even though we might not have been doing exactly what we wanted, where we wanted (preferably on a Greek island), it still felt like a holiday and I even bothered to paint my toenails in celebration.

What I noticed during the heatwave was how lovely everyone looked. Now I live in southeast London, but over the last few weeks, it might as well have been Ibiza.

People who weren’t going abroad due to the classic Covid-19 combination of money worries and travel restrictions started wearing their holiday finery here in the UK. What I call the “riviera wardrobe” came out to play – all those glittery sandals and wafty tunics. Even the men joined in, sporting jaunty straw hats, jungle print shirts and those Havannah flip flops mostly bought once upon a time at Gatwick airport.