Some love the spring time, as life finally returns, and the plants wake up after a long winter. Some love winter itself, with the cold an excuse for comfy jumpers and comfort food, while others prefer the mists and mellow fruitfulness of the autumn.
Most students, though, live for the summer. There’s a tension that builds up across university campuses as deadlines loom, exams bear down, and when that tension breaks, everyone celebrates! It might be long barbecues through the heat of the afternoon or parties that go on till dawn, spontaneous trips to the beach or paddling pools in the back garden, whether you’re in the student accommodation Bolton has to offer or the medieval halls of Cambridge, summer is the best time of year!
Today we’re giving students a guide to the summer to make sure you get the best out of the best season of the them all.
Partying
If your first reaction at a glimpse of sun is to get the barbecue going a case of beer in the fridge, you’re in a for a great summer. Just bear a few tips in mind to make sure your good time doesn’t come to an unceremonious end:
- Be aware of the neighbours
Whether they’re students who still have exams or civilians with jobs or children (or both!), your parties not going to go far if an irate neighbour calls the police. Try to be sensitive to the people around you, keep the noise down after an agreed time and only go really wild if you know you’re not going to be creating enemies.
- Drink carefully
You need to be more drink aware than usual in the hot weather. Alcohol is a diuretic, and if you’re in the middle of a heatwave, a few pints of beer won’t hydrate you as much as you might think, even as it masks the mental fog of oncoming heatstroke. Drink water between pints and if you wake up feeling groggy, knock back a sports drink to replace the electrolytes you’ve lost.
- Cook carefully
Everyone loves a barbecue, but nobody loves food poisoning. If you’re cooking al fresco, cut things in half to check they’re done through, and eat them right away. Leaving plates of sausages in the sun is an invitation to bacteria that you will regret extending.
Fun in the Sun
If you’re spending a lot of time outdoors you need to do a bit more than slap on some factor 30 before you leave the house. Good suntan lotion will protect you from skin cancer and burning as long as you reapply it regularly, but it can’t stop you getting overheated and heat exhaustion is no fun at all.
Make suncream a part of your reaction to the good weather: not your whole plan. Cover up except when you’re consciously working on your tan, andseek out shade if you’re outdoors. This means you can enjoy the summer without it getting the better of you.