Dear LPG,

Most of us have not had the opportunity to leave our homes for what seems like ages but, on the whole, the weather this year has not let us down and I feel that lock down would have been even worse if the good Lord had not provided us with a decent portion of sunshine to look at through our windows.

I think that quite a few people have not been able to get out much, and while the essentials have been delivered there are a few items that have not been considered.  The word holiday has only come up because so many have been cancelled and one of the essentials that most of us buy for them is sun tan lotion. 

Last year I wrote to LPG because I learned that 15 minutes of sun a day is not a bad thing (►►►) but did you know that you can be burned enough by the sun even if it has to pass through the glass of your window before you feel the effects?  Before I retired my work involved a lot of driving and, during the summer, when I took a look at myself in the mirror I was always surprised at how much more sunburned my right arm would look in comparison to my left one.  Apparently the front windows of cars are treated to minimise the effect but the side windows do the potential damage.

Few of us have had the opportunity to be sun worshipers this year, because we have not been allowed out of our houses let alone further afield, but the sun also likes to colour the skin of gardeners and those who like to feel its rays from the other side of a car, boat or train window, or the window that you might sit under when reading or watching telly on bright summer days. 

I read all this on the internet after taking a proper look at the colour of the skin underneath my watch and, having read some internet information on the subject, I thought it worth sharing.  

There is one more thing that may be worth remembering, especially if you happen to have darker skin like me.  In my experience, we are less likely to focus on sunbathing even when we go on holiday, but we still tan and are just as susceptible to skin cancer as the next person. 

So as the sun goes some way to making this a memorable summer, in spite of all the holidays and day trips to the coast that we are missing, it might be worth adding a little sun tan lotion to your shopping list and keeping this thought in mind.

DH, Lewisham

DH shares her findings...

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