Dear LPG, 

I think that we can all agree that this summer has offered us some hot days and the result is that it is getting harder to get going in the mornings.  It is true I think that a really hot day makes me long for those days when the cold sets in from the outset (well, at least until they arrive).

This heat wave now affords us all an excuse to use all those fans that so often get ignored for so much of the time during our UK year, and there are so many variations these days.  What type of fan do you think of when it is hot and all the cold drinks in the world are not making you feel any cooler? 

There are the ones that go round and round while they make that continuous ‘whirring’ noise and the oscillating ones that send waves of cool air your way every now and then.  There are those Vortex ones that double as heaters in the winter and those smaller ones that you can add ice to.  Then there are the latest neck fans that are beginning to appear on the shoulders of the hi-tech person who wishes to be ‘cool’ in more ways than one and the mini handheld ones that are designed for your pocket or handbag.  

You also see them in those Egyptian and Indian films where the master’s slave would be waving one of those over the heads of their masters.  But ladies, perhaps this heat is promoting a time where digging out one of those that someone bought you back from a Spanish holiday years ago is not a bad idea…  Have you noticed how many folded paper ones are making a bit of a comeback with us oldies these days?

I have one at the bottom of my bag which has come in very handy during the past couple of weeks and while using it on a bus recently I became aware of how many people were watching me wave it and checking out my wrist pivot action.  Let’s face it, it is always good to have one just in case your more modern, self-propelling one runs out of batteries or charge when you need it most. 

It got me thinking about the historical use of those concertina-folded bits of paper, material or feathers, and just how many are again proving useful this summer as they are being used to move the air in front of many a hot face.   Seeing so many around this year might well provoke us to remember that they have a language all their own, and just in case you have forgotten ladies, you are never too old to give that certain gentleman the ‘come-on’ or a ‘get going’ message if you understand the subtleties of the flick of the wrist.  

I have found a bit of information that might help the ladies convey those unspoken communiques   while perhaps the gentleman would do well to make sure they understand them just in case there is a message being waved in your direction.     Perhaps that fan that is so invaluable during this extremely hot weather might just be of help in another way.

MC, Woolwich 

MC offers some basic lessons from the west and the east…

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