Well, summer has truly started. Not only is it hot, and I mean hot all the time, even during the night, but the mozzies are well and truly back – big time.

I had thought, as I had already been bitten a few times over the last few weeks, that my usual problem had gone. A false hope. During our trip to Orta, I was showing that I had, in fact, already got a slight tan, by holding my forearm against someone else’s. Then, I noticed that my forearm had increased in size by about half. If it wasn’t smooth, it would be like something from Total Recall.

Of course, every year it improves or, rather, it is less bad and lasts less time. The first year my right forearm swelled up to twice its normal size and took about 3 weeks to reduce. Last year it only took about a week or so. This year it is definitely less swollen and is already going down – in fact, it’s almost normal, so, a few days.

At least, if this follows the normal pattern, this will be it. Last night we went to Navigli and the mozzies there are really bad. They bite through clothes – even jeans. I got bitten several times, but it doesn’t seem so bad this time. Let’s hope so.

We found a brand new ice-cream shop in the Navigli with the most delicious chocolate ice-creams of various kinds and we had four cones with two flavours each which cost only 10 Euro (I mean there were four of us so 1 cone each). Bloody great. And so, after an aperitivo (which was where I got bitten) at one of our favourite bars, Bar Luca; followed by pizza at Fabbrica; we had the ice cream, walking back down the side of the canal, gone midnight, so warm that even a T-shirt and light cotton trousers seemed too much. I really do love living here. As one of my work colleagues says to me: ‘for you, it’s like being on holiday all the time’.

Today is the start of Wimbledon! I’ve been twice and would be happy to go every year for the whole fortnight, if I were rich enough. However, we don’t have satellite TV and I’m certainly not rich, so I won’t see any of it. I may get onto the Wimbledon site, where you can see matches in a virtual way, kind of. It’s not bad.

Of course, with it being Wimbledon, there is also the weather. So, perhaps I shouldn’t say that, this morning, as I’m driving to work at 8.30, the sun was shining, the temperature was about 25 degrees and it was really pleasant. Or perhaps I should?