Weather a great reason to stay home... and go bankrupt

Here’s what tends to happen in a lovely sunny spell, as some of us have been finding lately: We rejoice at the fact that we can stay at home, get a tan, and it’s cheaper than going on holiday. Then we realise how much we’re spending to enjoy staying at home and realise it would have been cheaper to go on holiday.

It’s not just the extra cost of the alcohol involved, although that forms a hefty part of the bill.

Hard day at work? “Ooh, we can sit in the garden/pavement bar and have an Aperol spritz – it’s just like being on holiday. What time is it?

“Shall we have a small beer to cool down?” etc. Then there’s all the kit you need if you have a garden – outside furniture, barbecue, paddling pool etc. You may, like us at Penman Towers, have dusted off an old sunlounger and given it a lick of paint.

I am a big fan of a lounger or recliner, as it makes me think I am lounging or reclining – in the manner of some Hollywood starlet – rather than sitting.

If you have no access to a garden in the hot weather, you may have stocked up on a new picnic rug, some disposable barbecues, a cool bag etc before heading off to a park or a beach.

And that’s before you’ve bought anything to eat or drink for the picnic.

Then there’s the thorny issue of clothing. There are those of us who dig out the same wardrobe every year for “summer” in Scotland.

I may splash out on a couple of summery items for holibags, but these are never items I would wear at home.

This year, however, I’ve had to invest in actual clothes suitable to function in the heat without looking as though I’ve just got off a plane from Ibiza.

See how the costs mount up? I can feel the need for a refreshing G&T to take the edge off the worry.

If I put some fresh mint and a slice of cucumber in it, it will be just like being on holiday...

I can feel the need for a refreshing G&T to take the edge off the worry