. . . cider, women and song, says Mundy.

"Summer is walking home from the swimming pool with a towel over my head in the rain and stopping off at the chip shop for a 99. It's playing hurling up against a neighbour's wall and kissing girls down at the mill.

"Summer is French students, the smell of fresh bales of hay, Linden Village cider and vintage week. It's Ozzie Bennet's steam engine, playing music beside the bonfire and making a raft for the river out of anything floatable we could find."

When in Japan. . .

. . . on no account blow your nose into a handkerchief in public. Wait until you get home, as public nose-blowing is considered the worst possible manners. Nose-blowing is seen as much worse than urinating in public, which is taken for granted.

Rosita Boland