Ireland is seldom baked in sun that is more akin to Brittany or Barcelona. Last week we had Mediterranean weather. It felt balmy, reminding me of foreign holidays. Tim and I thought of 1984, which was a warm summer and a great year for farming. Back then we grew a lot of grain and the yields that year were very high.

The good weather continued right into September. But what happens to Irish people in hot weather? We lose the plot absolutely. The furnace in the sky rages on, burning the lovely soft skin of those with fair complexions.

The rest of us who tan easily think we are immune just because our skin goes a golden colour. What fools we are. This is rich coming from one who has loved the beach and the sun all her life. A sun holiday is one of the pleasures I’ve always relished.

To be fair, I think my generation can be forgiven a little. There was no such thing as sun protection when we were growing up. For the fair skinned it was put on your long-sleeved shirt and cover up. If you had skin that tanned easily you were lucky – you didn’t really have to do anything once you didn’t get burned.

My Gran and my Mam had lovely red hair and so there’s a sprinkling of redheads among my siblings and cousins. They are especially vulnerable.

Mam was hilarious at the beach. She had a special long-sleeved light yellow blouse that came out every year, a wide-brimmed hat, a long, flowing, flowery skirt and copious layers of suncream (when it came on the market). We laughed at her, but it turns out she was the wise one.

NERVOUS OF THE SUN

In normal years I’d have been in shorts and a string top in the garden as soon as temperatures would allow. I’d want to get out and soak up the sun as soon as possible. This year, despite the great weather, I’ve yet to put on a pair of shorts. I have become really nervous of the sun. I regard it as the enemy, with the ability to rob me of precious years of life.

Last year, I got a real good fright. I had a brown irregular staining on the back of my ear checked out on Tim’s insistence. Although I’d had it all my life, he noted that it had changed colour. I had it removed and had to return again because there were cells that indicated that it was indeed changing and was in fact pre melanoma.

The consultant warned that had I waited a further six months, that I may have been dealing with a much more difficult problem. Now I’m just being monitored. Others are not as lucky as me to actually get that warning. So do get those spots and marks checked out. Since that time last year, quite a few people have come to me with similar stories, or even looking for advice about their marks. My advice is to go to see your GP and, if necessary, he or she will refer you onto a relevant consultant. It could save your life.

FARMERS ARE AT RISK

To lie on a beach, or even sit in the back garden and maybe read a book or listen to music, is extremely relaxing. You can feel the heat soothe your bones. Yet there is always the risk of taking too much sun. I worry that the message is not getting through.

Last week, in the height of the heatwave, I was in the queue at the check-out in our local supermarket. There was a beautiful young girl, scantily clad, ahead of me. I could see that she was sunburned from head to toe. It was just coming up and in another hour or two she would be bright red. That’s the big problem. The sunburn is not visible for a few hours. Real skin damage is not visible for several years and that leads to complacency about the effects of the sun. We must take care. One of my friends, Margaret Dollard from national school, sent me an email on this very topic.

Margaret wrote: “I have been anxious to contact you regarding raising awareness about the dangers of sun exposure for our farming men. As summer weather can be unpredictable, with varying degrees of sunshine, it is very difficult to ensure that farmers are always protected. I leave the bottle of sun lotion in my son’s cereal bowl every morning when laying the table for breakfast, but even at that I am not sure that he always applies it. One area I have a real issue with is the real reluctance farmers have to wearing sun hats or any form of protection for their ears in particular, which are prone to severe sunburn.”

Margaret is right. Farmers are poor at protecting themselves from the sun.

I am trying to keep the sun cream on the kitchen island unit and in the bathroom, so that it is at least easy to find. When the sun is visibly shining, there is some chance of applying sunscreen.

Yet the sun can penetrate cloud, water and even glass. The experts tell us that sun damage to our skin is cumulative, so if you have been sunburned in the past you are at risk.

The ears, the back of the neck, balding heads and the backs of the hands are the high risk places for farmers. Start applying sun protection every day. It might be just in time. CL