Sizzling UK "hotter than Spain"

I had to laugh when the UK headline, proudly proclaiming a "sizzler" for the bank holiday, popped up in front of my eyes as I logged into my email. Excitedly, it said it would be "hotter than Spain!" Here's the story:

The weekend temperature will be the hottest of the year, beating the current record of 22.1C (72F) reached in East Malling, Kent, in mid-April.
"We can expect temperatures to rise to 24C (75F) on both Saturday and Sunday," said a Sky forecaster.
Paris can expect temperatures of 22C (72F), Madrid 23C (73F) and Lisbon 21C (70F). Rome will be basking in temperatures of above 30C (86F).

I am, of course, delighted that the UK's Whitsun break is getting a decent spell of sunshine. It was the "hotter than Spain" boast that made me smile.

The story neglects to mention the fact that here in Madrid we've been "basking" in temperatures of above 30 degrees for the last three days. The temperature is expected to go down a tad at the weekend - latest forecasts suggest it'll be somewhere in the region of 25 C. Which will be something of a relief. Even our Spanish friends, who generally have a far higher tolerance to heat than we cold-blooded northern Europeans, are describing the weather as "hace mucho calor" (making a lot of heat).

It's only a brief respite, though. From the middle of June the temperature here tends to ascend towards (and into) the early forties Celsius and remain there until September. I'm not sure how Theo and I will cope, although he had some practice at surviving the heat during his childhood, when his family lived for a time in Tanzania. As for me? I'm investing in a traditional Spanish fan.