Ahh, summer. Those long, warm, sunny days spent outdoors, the hours punctuated by the cheerful trill of birds and the gentle caress of a warm breeze.

Of course, this being Britain, such descriptions of summer can sometimes feel very alien, as if they happened on some exotic, far-away land. Certainly, the long summer days exist, but warm? This summer it feels as if the sun, along with many Brits, has packed its bag and headed off to err, sunnier climes. It is mid-June and still the temperature stubbornly refuses to rise above 22 Celcius.

The clouds continue to look threatening almost every day, the (chilly) winds continue to howl, and the rains, oh, the rains, how they fall. We did get one hot day last month, and predictably, the day brought chaos to the transport system - the rails apparently expanded too much in the "extreme" (30 Celcius) heat, thus causing major delays to the trains.

Henmania

But never mind all that. It may be cold and distinctly un-summer-like, but many events take place during summer thus allowing us to take our minds off the weather.

It is in summer that the nation indulges in the annual fest known as Henmania - an event better known outside the British Isles as the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. The duration of this fest varies; sometimes it only lasts a week, other times it lasts the full two weeks. At the centre of the fest is the British No. 1 player, Tim Henman. Henman is a perfectly adequate tennis player. He is very strong on grass (which incidentally is the surface at Wimbledon), and in his day, has beaten the best.

Unfortunately, Henman is not quite in the same class as Sampras, Federer, Hewitt et al (and this year there will be that young upstart Rafael Nadal to contend with), but this doesn't stop the British from wondering if this will be the year when he finally lifts the Championship trophy. Every summer, the newspapers advise Henman what strategies he could employ to win. One year he was deemed too nice on court, so the next year they advised him to be more aggressive (which he duly tried; he clenched his fists in triumph after scoring a point and started frowning and grimacing more often), and thus was born the epithet Tiger Tim - one that has stuck to this day. Will 2005 be Tiger Tim's year? Only time can tell.

Then there is the ongoing Royal Ascot. The Queen always attends this five-day horse-racing event, and invitations to the Royal Enclosure are highly prized. This is (apparently) the pinnacle of the social calendar, and not just because of the races. No, the Ascot is about dressing up to the nines, and aside from the horses, attention has always been focused on what the ladies wear, particularly on their heads. Hats are de rigueur at the Ascot, and the more outlandish it is, the better.

Of course, not everyone can go to the Ascot or watch Henman in action, but rest assured, the hoi polloi have their own events to partake in.

Barbecue in summer

Summer after all, is the season of the barbecue. All the sun needs to do is take a shy peek from amongst the clouds, and people start thinking barbecues. People plan barbecue-parties weeks in advance, and most refuse to allow a bit of rain to dampen the festivities. All this barbecue-ing though, can have a rather unfortunate side-effect. Many people are not used to cooking on charcoal, and it is common to find undercooked or overcooked food. As a result, summer is also the time when the airwaves are littered with advice on how to ensure barbecued foods are cooked adequately. Solemn anecdotes of people being struck ill with food poisoning or salmonella also abound.

This is also the time to cast off those heavy winter clothing. Nubile bodies that were hidden by jumpers and coats in winter start reappearing. Bare arms and legs are put on display. Cleavages come out. Thanks to tanning salons, bodies that were ghostly pale in winter acquire a sheen of colour as soon as the sun comes out and the layers of clothes cast off. This may sound like heaven to the casual onlooker; unfortunately this is not always the case. Not all bare arms and legs are slim and toned. Nubile bodies are not the only ones on display. Alas, in some city centres, the bodies on display include huge beer guts (which can be found on both men and women) and rolls of fat straining to escape under tight clothing.

Unfortunately, summer can also be a time of extreme discomfort.

Take London's underground trains (popularly known as the tube), for instance. London's tube is the oldest network in the world - and it shows. Newer underground systems in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore include air-conditioning in trains as standard. Regrettably, air-conditioning hadn't been invented when services started in 1863, and it has never been added to the tube. The trains are usually warm anyway to begin with as tube users number some 3 million, but on hot days, the tube resembles a moving oven. Temperatures inside trains have been known to reach 37 Celcius; when a train is packed, describing the situation inside as highly uncomfortable is something of an understatement.

Then there are insects. People like being outdoors in summer - but this means they have to share their space with the various insects that come to life in the warmer months. Most insects don't really bother anyone, but a few like midges and wasps are a nuisance and refuse to leave you alone.

There is also another summer hazard - pollen. Flowering plants release huge amounts of pollen in the air. These don't bother most people, but summer can be misery for those who suffer from hayfever, or an allergic reaction to pollen. Hayfever sufferers spend their summer months sniffling, having itchy eyes and sneezing. Some even break out in hives.

Despite the often diabolical weather and the discomforts that it can bring, many still greatly look forward to the summer months. There is something wonderful about the existence of daylight at 9pm - even when one has just escaped a sweltering tube journey, sneezing nineteen to the dozen and bitten by insects every step of the way.

FARAH FAHMY is a Malaysian living and working in London. She enjoys reading blogs, going for walks in parks and longs for nasi lemak and teh tarik.