It’s getting hot! Are you ready? 🥵

We've got lightening but no rain or breeze...View attachment 285979
That’s a good dramatic sky. No storms, rain or breeze here.

I couldn’t really sleep. Got up at 3amish, gave piggies new cold blocks,
got bemused looks, opened every window, then went outside barefoot & stepped on a slug. 🤢

I can see it’s going to be a great day. 🙄

I have already had a mini sofa nap, and am very grateful that I am not at work today. Just me & our piggy boys trying to stay cool.
Our gardens already reached 22C at almost 6am, and inside is at 25C downstairs. Upstairs is yuk.

(Driving home yesterday, car thermometer was showing 34C, in the early afternoon)

Thinking of everyone & everypig trying to stay cool today, especially those of you in the hottest places. 🥵

Here’s a photo of Wally cooling his ?! While still enjoying his hay cube.



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We were meant to have thunderstorms up here in Scotland but didn’t come to anything in the end. We have a nice 17C breeze cooling everything down first thing in the morning though before it creeps up to 23C today. Sending some cooler weather down south! 🌬️
Some very good ideas on this thread. I’m going to invest in a cooling mat first. Is it safe for piggies to lie directly on it or does it needs covered up?
 
We weren't in the UK in 1976 and I was too young to notice and remember any snippets from rellies' letters about that drought, tho I do remember the summer of '75 being fairly warm and sunny by Scottish standards. '83 or '84 there were actual hosepipe bans in our area of Scotland. I remember one of the neighbours tut-tutting about the other neighbour carrying full watering cans after watering cans down the road to his vegetable garden.
No water bowsers in the streets though!

Super important question: What does Madam in her sleek black coat think of the current weather?

My friend remembers the heatwaves in Scotland in the 1980s but this was before my time. I definitely don’t remember it being this hot in the summer here growing up in the 90s/early noughties. I think your memories are distorted with time (shifting baseline syndrome) but it’s sad we’re dealing with multiple heatwaves on an annual basis now. Hoping for a cool weekend ahead for everyone.
 
No rain or anything here but also no cooling off and hardly any breezes despite my best efforts. It's just gone even more muggy than before. It's 6 am and the piggy room is still on 24 C (down from 26 C last night with two fans going).

I've slept in the kitchen as upstairs has become too hot. Even though I am feeling totally exhausted and sleep deprived.
We were meant to have thunderstorms up here in Scotland but didn’t come to anything in the end. We have a nice 17C breeze cooling everything down first thing in the morning though before it creeps up to 23C today. Sending some cooler weather down south! 🌬️
Some very good ideas on this thread. I’m going to invest in a cooling mat first. Is it safe for piggies to lie directly on it or does it needs covered up?

If it contains any gel, please cover it up so the piggies can't get at it. It can be fatal.
 
No rain or anything here but also no cooling off and hardly any breezes despite my best efforts. It's just gone even more muggy than before. It's 6 am and the piggy room is still on 24 C (down from 26 C last night with two fans going).

I've slept in the kitchen as upstairs has become too hot. Even though I am feeling totally exhausted and sleep deprived.


If it contains any gel, please cover it up so the piggies can't get at it.

Thanks Wiebke. I really hope the humidity clears for you, sounds like a constant battle on top of everything else you’re going through. Hope you get some rest and respite from the heat soon.
 
We weren't in the UK in 1976 and I was too young to notice and remember any snippets from rellies' letters about that drought, tho I do remember the summer of '75 being fairly warm and sunny by Scottish standards. '83 or '84 there were actual hosepipe bans in our area of Scotland. I remember one of the neighbours tut-tutting about the other neighbour carrying full watering cans after watering cans down the road to his vegetable garden.
No water bowsers in the streets though!

Super important question: What does Madam in her sleek black coat think of the current weather?
She's moping about finding shade wherever she can.
 
We were meant to have thunderstorms up here in Scotland but didn’t come to anything in the end. We have a nice 17C breeze cooling everything down first thing in the morning though before it creeps up to 23C today. Sending some cooler weather down south! 🌬️
Some very good ideas on this thread. I’m going to invest in a cooling mat first. Is it safe for piggies to lie directly on it or does it needs covered up?
Some pigs chew the mats, so best to put it inside a pillow slip or similar. They are nice ❤️
 
Angus likes to stand on the freezer block (wrapped in a tea towel, the block, not him!) to cool his little feets. Willow, despite being a long hair (which we trim) seems unconcerned but maxxed at around 28 and a few decimal points centigrade yesterday.
 

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It didn't go below 27C in my flat overnight. Despite opening all the windows i haven't been able to cool it down at all. The piggy room is now 28. Windows and curtains now closed on the 'sunny side', fan on in the piggy room, frozen water bottle, wet sheets etc. I've done everything I can.

It's apparently going to be 35 this afternoon in my part of London 'feeling like 38' It all feels hopeless.
 
I see people "enjoying this nice summer weather" and I keep thinking that these people probably don't have elderly relatives, babies, or animals to protect from the heat. The mental load is exhausting and you feel powerless.

Here's to hoping it ends soon. Keep safe.
 
It didn't go below 27C in my flat overnight. Despite opening all the windows i haven't been able to cool it down at all. The piggy room is now 28. Windows and curtains now closed on the 'sunny side', fan on in the piggy room, frozen water bottle, wet sheets etc. I've done everything I can.

It's apparently going to be 35 this afternoon in my part of London 'feeling like 38' It all feels hopeless.
Toffee should be OK. My pigs rest against the water bottles and keep themselves safe that way. They are very sensible. You must look after yourself too. I hope everything goes OK for you 🙏❤️
 
Our high today is predicted to be 26, much lower than it has been although still high, to be honest it doesn't feel any better now and it's still early. We had a very loud thunderstorm last night, wind and rain. The wind has caused some damage in the garden but it was welcome in the house, all windows were wide open front and back which cooled upstairs down but not for long the temperature inside soon built back up. The boys room is still cool with wet towels and their ice blocks are in the freezer for later in case we need them.
 
I definitely don’t remember it being this hot in the summer here growing up in the 90s/early noughties. I think your memories are distorted with time (shifting baseline syndrome) but it’s sad we’re dealing with multiple heatwaves on an annual basis now.
I'm sure it wasn't that hot when you were growing up. I think it was in '84 not '83 that there was the particularly nice summer, with a hosepipe ban - I do remember that because of the neighbour tut-tutting, as if the hosepipe ban should apply to someone on the poor side growing their own veg! Such is village life. I don't remember it being too hot for humans to enjoy time outside. It was just a nice summer. Whereas now, check BBC website in summer and see mountainsides of heather burning! I don't remember that from the '80s. Unthinkable to my mind. I do remember some years back then where there were forest fires in western Canada, but not on the massive scale and not every summer. Whereas now in the boreal forests, 'zombie fires' continue to burn under the snow in the soil over the winter, ready to flare up again in spring/summer.
 
Thinking of all piggies and humans and sending lots of love from me and my little family... we managed to steal a portable air con from my boyfs family (they had two!) so we have all been camping in our little living room - the Guineas, me and my boyf and we also had my mums dog stay with us for the night on Wednesday (who btw is a very big fan of Freddie - and Freddie is alarmingly very unbothered by the maltipoo trying to be his bestie!). It is very cramped but we somehow manage. Travelling for an hour/hour and half on london buses and the piccadilly tube line to work has been brutal, but the best thing I have done is frozen a hot water bottle and carried it with me. Luckily the office has air con so I can escape the heat of the day, and the portable unit has been helping my boyf and the piggies working from home.

It does cause me so much anxiety though - for the piggies and for those who are heat sensitive, I really struggle in the heat and as everyone has mentioned our houses/flats etc. just aren't built for cooling. And of course the wider climate emergency is making me nervous.... :no: But so much to be thankful for and always grateful I am in a position where I can afford to use the AC unit etc.:wub:
 
I remember having a bad cold and a high temperature on a hot summer day and having to get home in a London bus. I bought a bag of frozen peas from Tesco and went home cradling them on my lap. They were a life saver.
 
The heat is making me paranoid for my girls--even using the AC, while a life saver, is kind of scary because I'm constantly worried about drafts and about the remote possibility that it might shut down when I'm not around to see it (as in, during the night) so I check every time I wake up.

And it's supposed to be 35° again tomorrow (though with a slightly cooler night; we might go down to 23°C, yay!)
 
Tomorrow should 'only' get in touching distance of 30 C with the next nights below 20 C (so there is a chance of things cooling down a bit more overnight if there isn't any rain and then it gradually cools down to normal summer temperatures in the lower twenties.

I am going to spend the day watering the sheets about once an hour and otherwise mostly dozing on my inflatable mattress on the kitchen floor where it is a bit cooler. And telling myself to keep sipping water as I have lost my appetite.
Hope it gets better for you soon!
Coming from a DACH country, you presumably know the tricks from over here for keeping hydrated and keeping eating? Plain yoghurt from the fridge. Drink water/juice mix - 1 part juice to 2 parts water. Even throw a pinch of salt in (haven't tried that latter bit). Mint cools from the inside!
I lost my appetite a few days ago and was having difficulty swallowing water for some bizaare reason, and some of the above has helped. Please ignore, if incompatible with your dietary or other health requirements. I wish you pleasant coolish 💤
 
Hope it gets better for you soon!
Coming from a DACH country, you presumably know the tricks from over here for keeping hydrated and keeping eating? Plain yoghurt from the fridge. Drink water/juice mix - 1 part juice to 2 parts water. Even throw a pinch of salt in (haven't tried that latter bit). Mint cools from the inside!
I lost my appetite a few days ago and was having difficulty swallowing water for some bizaare reason, and some of the above has helped. Please ignore, if incompatible with your dietary or other health requirements. I wish you pleasant coolish 💤
Thank you 🙏❤️
 
Hope everyone and their piggies are okay today! Holding strong here despite it being the hottest day.
26 in the piggy cage right now, meanwhile I am sweating from every pore ahah!

Thankfully tomorrow it will start to cool down! Stay hydrated everyone!
 
Can't wait for it to be cooler tomorrow, today has been cool enough that I could open the windows early, about 2pm, as outside was finally cooler than inside! One of the perks of living near a river, canal and marina is the cool air that blows over from it. It's 32.6 upstairs which isn't too bad compared to what it has been.
The poor cat has ptsd every time I walk past because he keeps getting his head and ears doused with a handful of cold water here and there because he's determined to sleep in the hottest places and he's 14! He's finally sitting on his tower by the cracked open window to appease me..

I've had to sleep on the sofa the last few nights, impossible to sleep upstairs! The fan hasn't been turned off for more than an hour since Monday. Of course the cat still wants to snuggle which hasn't helped!
Luckily so far the only casualties I've had was a pack of toffee crisp I bought and didn't think to put in the fridge 🤣

Hope everyone's been coping well, not much longer now until it's over!
 
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