What a grand summer we are having! And we wait so long for a spell of unbroken hot, sunny, and dry weather that we are loathe to moan in case we jinx it.

Sure, the winter will be along soon enough, we say - and the evenings are already starting to shorten. Then again, we do love a good gripe too, and the heatwave has offered up plenty of opportunity on that front.

It’s too hot! I can’t sleep! I’m tired all the time! The kids are cranky! My brand new Al energy rated house is like a greenhouse!

I get it, and I can understand why people may be in the market for an air-con if these long, hot summers keep on coming.

At the sweltering Marquee the other night, I sat next to a couple with face fans and envied their cool-headed forward-planning.

But I have another bugbear altogether that has arrived this summer, and one I have never noticed before.

Lads, I am being hounded by biting mosquitoes every night, so much so that I am seriously considering purchasing a heretofore exotic item we associate only with countries on the equator - a mosquito net for the bed. (I note they are as cheap as €12.99 on Amazon).

It all started at the beginning of the first heat dome, when I was awoken at dawn by a high-pitched whine fluttering around my head. It was the sound of a blood-hungry mozzie beating its wings several hundred times a second, seeking out its next meal.

It emerged later that morning that the pests had invaded through our wide-open windows as night fell, and fed on the entire family.

They got in the next night, too, and we itched and scratched for days until we realised the only way to combat them was to close the windows before dusk, then open them again when all the lights were out. Even then, a few snuck in to grab a tasty snack.

Out in the country, we’re used to........

© Evening Echo