SO how was it for you? Last week’s heatwave. Brace yourself – we’re in for three more months of soaring temperatures. Personally, I love the heat. But it has its downsides.

I was in London last Tuesday and it just confirmed for me that I took the right decision to give up working in London and work down here.

As temperatures soared, so did tempers. I weaved in and out of stationary traffic as I cycled back to Waterloo to catch the train home and my heart went out to those that don’t have the luxury to choose where they live or work.

The train’s air conditioning wasn’t working and its speed was restricted as lines buckled under the heat. Offices and classrooms were too hot to work in. Employers were asked to let staff leave early or avoid anything strenuous.

A level two health warning was just short of a national emergency, 999 calls doubled and, more seriously, the high temperatures triggered health warnings for the elderly and those with respiratory conditions.

It doesn’t take much to bring Britain to its knees.

A sprinkling of snow, a few weeks of heavy rain, a storm or two, even the wrong kind of leaves on the line and the country grinds to a halt with apocalyptic talk of global warming as we struggle to cope with conditions that other countries take in their stride.

Well, however it was for you, stay prepared – the unusually hot weather is set to continue.

But the temperatures that caused so many problems at home are the everyday ones that many of us seek on our summer holidays.

As beach-goers in Bournemouth bask in the heat, travellers’ tempers will be frayed as they escape to the sun, a little more anxiously than usual, with strikes at channel ports, troubles in Tunisia, currency instability and shortages of food and cash in Greece.

So why do we do it? Why does a summer break assume such immense proportions?

Holidays are so much more than just chasing the sun – they’re about having a break from everyday reality, heading off into the unknown or revisiting the familiar, giving ourselves permission to play and a bank of memories to look back on.

An opportunity to catch up on sleep, on that book we’ve been meaning to read, to spend time together as a family, to leave behind all those undone chores that nag when we spend time at home, to rediscover life without the Wii and Xbox, and discover the excitement of anticipation, new food, new sights and new places.

And if you’re not able to take a proper break here or abroad then an £8 return ticket to Bournemouth on the X3 will give you a day on the beach as warm as anywhere in the Mediterranean with a lot less hassle. Enjoy!