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Hacked Off’s seven reasons to hate summer

Having a lovely summer? Good for you. No really, I am not at all bitter about the fun you are having while I am having a summer from hell.

Here’s why I hate this summer:

1. Work. It should be outlawed on warm, sunny days. It is the best summer we’ve had for years and here I am stuck in the office.

2. The commute. Anyone who has travelled in a packed commuter train, bus or tube knows why this is hell.

3. Other people are having fun. When I got out at lunch time, for my paltry 15-minute breath of “fresh” London air, all I can see are people in shorts and summer clothes having fun. Sitting outside of cafes, lying in the grassy squares. Obviously NOT working. It isn’t fair.

4. Holiday tales. No, I don’t want to know what a fabulous time you have just had in the South of France, or even Wales. Please put those holiday snaps away before I tear them out of your hands and rip them up.

5. Holiday expense. The kids are off school and are demanding money for outings every day. Not only is this expensive, I am jealous!

6. Holiday angst. When I do get to take my week off, there is the agonising decision of where to go. We don’t want to invest thousands of pounds (which is what family holidays cost these days) for something that isn’t perfect. And what if the flights are cancelled, or the accommodation is awful and the kids get sick? Who will get the blame? Me, of course.

7. Barbeques. When I get outside in the evening to relax in my patch of green (well, yellow), all I can smell is other people’s BBQs. Plus there is all the noise of other people enjoying themselves in their gardens. Perhaps I should move to the country.

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