I heard that a UK summer was between the last two weeks of July and first two of August. As for us 'kangaroos" we have fair dinkum summers.. too bloody hot if I have to be honest. I lived in a semi rural place on the outskirts of Sydney so there was plenty for myself and my mates to do in the school hols. We went tadpole hunting and when a little older yabbie hunting.. yummy if you could catch one big enuff to eat. Come summer and the cicadas stir from from their 17 year hibernation underground to waken the evening with their shrilling songs. Can not remember how many times I would climb a tree to snaffle a 'green grocer" or a "double drummer" and keep them in an aired box as pets. Catching the huge Christmas beetle was another Chrissie pastime. This was an art as they are cagey creatures. Probably the hilite of my endless summer was the Billy Cart racing. Made from old fruit boxes with a pair of disused pram wheels and a length of rope to steer.. these contraptions reached break neck speeds as they tore down our local dirt streets. Many a time I had a spill.. not sure how I did not kill myself. Another fun thing we kids did was find a piece of old board or the like and go up to the local sandhills and slide down. That was safer than billy cart racing as if you fell off you were in soft sand not hard dirt. Oh for a return to my childhood of endless summers.
An Aussie "double drummer" cicada.
Billy cart racing.