My burning shame over strapmarks
Hands up who got caught short this weekend and has turned up for work or school with sunburn and strap marks?
Guiltily, I confess, I am one of them. And I am ashamed. I always use suntan cream with a protection factor akin to a suit of armour.
And I enjoy nothing more than pointing and laughing at those who, like King Canute, think they can defy the elements.
I've always particularly enjoyed that look which can be achieved by wearing a different strappy top on consecutive days, resulting in a spider's web-type criss-cross of white lines on red (you can get a similar effect by randomly sticking gaffer tape on your back and shoulders).
Like most mothers these days, I've always drummed it into the kids to use sun cream, no matter what.
For Vanessa, this is vital – she has the world's palest skin and burns if you look at her the wrong way.
Nick's not as bad, but he has that ridiculous teenage attitude that "he can't possibly get burned, especially not in this country".
Anyway, if he's not actually out playing football for his team, he'd rather not venture out into daylight, so that's that problem solved.
It was a garden centre that fettled me. My friend Susan has recently really got into gardening and insisted we went to one on Sunday morning.
As I'd stayed at hers the night before, I thought I'd have no need for sunblock. However, it was around noon as we were wandering around – the sun high in the sky, a breeze to hide the heat and plants to distract us…
It was only when we were setting up the barbecue several hours later that I realised the heat coming from my shoulders was hotter than that from the charcoal.
Of course, like the rest of the country, it was time to dig out the barbie, make a few running repairs (sellotaping on the air filter control that fell off last year, causing a raging inferno and incinerated bangers.
Still, it's the one thing that can lure Nick from PS3 World – slabs of assorted meat in cheesy breadbuns.
At least my sunburnt shoulders are symmetrical, unlike Susan's.
She'd been driving and now has a lovely case of lorry driver's arm. I think for the pair of us, it's going to take the rest of the summer to try and fill in the gaps – or maybe we could just colour in the white bits with an appropriately-coloured felt-tip pen.
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Weather for Sunderland
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South west
