In Britain, complaining about the sun is on a social-acceptability par with saying you like to kick puppies. But here goes (no puppies were harmed in the writing of this column): while many of us love the heat, the truth is that extreme temperatures can lead to some awful arguments.

Relationships suffer in times of stress – luckily, between eight flat moves, a pandemic, and a baby, I’ve learnt a thing or two about keeping one on an even keel over the last 12 years with my partner. Get your practical heatwave tips elsewhere. What follows will help if you’re interested in emerging from this hellish week as a duo rather than warring factions, but is applicable to most trying situations.

My first nugget of wisdom is – when something’s making your life harder, take any way you can to make it easier. Case in point: food. When I’m especially tired or stressed, the question “what shall we do for dinner?” is enough to make me........

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