LAURA CARTLEDGE Life's like That...It's better to be a whiter shade of pale than get yourself tangoed

By the time you get around to reading this, it will probably be raining. That always happens when I write about the weather.

But if it is damp, dark and dingy outside, please cast your minds back to the tropical heatwave which beamed down on us only a few days ago.

Nice, wasn’t it?

The autumn air full of the confused waft of barbecues burning sausages and burgers beyond their normal season. Traffic jams pointing in the direction of the nearest beach and everyone wearing a sunny disposition.

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Well, almost everyone. The sun and I don’t get along. Never have, never will. I’m pale and I am ginger, which means my summers are spent shade-bathing or bathing in factor 50.

Friends have been known to stand next to me so their tans look better and, of course, my school years were blighted by comments centring around carrot tops, biscuit tins and even a serious suggestion I might be a vampire – there was even a brainstorm drawn up to prove it.

Of course there have been times where I would have liked to have caught a little colour, other than bright red, but jokes, jests and jeers aside, it’s never really bothered me. In fact I feel sorry for those people who feel the need to be brown to be beautiful.

In some countries pale skin is aspired to, while in others millions are spent on products to help get that golden glow. It amazes me the lengths some people will go to just to get a suntan, especially when those lengths come at a cost to your health.

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From baking on beds to inventions such as injections and nasal sprays, it’s all a little bit mad in my opinion.

There are products which help you get the colour without the risks, but for every person who manages to convincingly fake it, there are about ten who look like they have been tangoed.

Either way I can’t wait for normal weather to be restored, so I can once again venture outdoors.

* Chipper chips in...

Our Macmillian Coffee Morning was great. With plenty of people donating their time, ovens and hard-earned cash to the event. Even Chipper, our mascot, handed out cakes before heading to Fontwell on Saturday to run off the calories in the mascot derby.

It​just​goes​to​show​charity​work,​in whatever form​or​furry​suit,​really​is​fantastic.