Something Useful for 2017 - Exercise No. 25

The first writing exercise of 2017 from me and it's August already. How did that happen?

This month's writing exercise is about summer, or rather what summer means to you.

For me, the summer is largely taken up with the school summer break - 6 or 7 weeks when my teens are away from school and my work has to take a sideways shunt to accommodate day trips and refereeing arguments.

I also have to feed them but since we bought a new sandwich toaster, they're sorting their own lunches out by experimenting with hot sandwich fillings. Ingredients to date have included ham, bacon, cheese, bananas, peanut butter, chocolate and jam. I'll let you guess at what combinations they've concocted so far.

So, back to the writing exercise. Summer. What does it mean to you? Does it even register in your busy life other than a change of wardrobe? Do you like summer skies or do you prefer the winter winds?

Write a piece about summer from someone else's perspective:

• A single parent struggling the expenses of a child minder with the demands of an overbearing boss. 
• A student taking the summer out to travel before university beckons. 
• A bed-ridden patient who can only see a tiny portion of the summer sky from their room.

Choose someone whose attitudes towards summer are completely different to yours. What is their story?