Yup it's been hot this week.

So hot that it felt like a small relief today when the temperature topped out at 30. The evening peak at 37°C was brutal and with temperatures not going below 25°C before midnight the kids have trouble getting to sleep.



The best anti-heat device ever: the Evian spray can. A fine mist of pure water directly on your face, it's sensuous as well as cooling. (And it probably has a built in manufacturer's resale programme with all the hydro-carbon aerosol pumps into the atmosphere.)

We're sucking up Evian like it was umm tap water. The kids take 'swimming pool baths' in cool water a couple of times a day. The wind rattles through the apartment because we've flung open every window to cool down. It's tough to get work done because the heat saps our energy. At creche Carlo runs around with his shirt off and kids have their heads doused in cold water regularly.

Those with apartments that don't cool are suffering. In many it soars over 40 every day. People faint in the streets. Possibly that's only when they see my pale white legs emerge from hibernation.