It’s that time of year - when it feels like the sun will never set.
The never-ending sunshine is exhilarating... sometimes. Some evenings we might stay at the beach until 11, savouring the lingering light.
Other evenings... it’s exhausting. We’re at home, indoors, layering blackout blinds onto the bedroom windows, trying to convince our younger children that it really is bedtime, even though the sun is still so high in the sky.
Here in the west of Ireland, the sun will set at 10.12 pm on the summer solstice. But after the sun sets comes the long twilight – which lasts over an hour at this time of the year. In reality, you can still see easily outdoors until well after 11pm. And whats more - it never gets truly dark – the sun never fully dips far enough below the horizon. The sky will hold a soft glow all night long.
Altogether, at the peak of midsummer - we’ll have more than 19 hours of usable light – a stretch of time so long it can feel almost surreal.
On top of this here in Ireland, schools are now closing for the summer – teenagers will have roughly 11 weeks off, and younger children will have around 9 weeks of holidays. And ... for parents ... the dreaded summer juggle of work, childcare and summer camps is now upon us.
So how do you find balance when the day goes on - seemingly forever? How do you resist the urge to fill all these long days to the brim?
Honestly, I’ve had my own gnarly brushes with burnout – times of stress, juggling too much, trying to prove myself (to who?), pushing too hard. But in one of those times, a very simple piece of advice was offered to me – the words of the Irish architect Patrick Shaffrey - “Life is a marathon, not a sprint.” And these are words I return to again and again at this time of the year.
As with our Winter Guide, this isn’t a to-do list, or a wellbeing guide, or a summer bucket list. Just because the days are long doesn’t mean we have to fill them all. Always remember - boredom can be good for you.
What follows is simply what we’ve enjoyed in our household recently – hopefully, some of it might resonate with you too.
26 mellow ways to savour the brightness of summer (and avoid burnout along the way)
CULTURE:
1. Savour “An Innocent Abroad in Mark Twain’s Paris”
This article by the wonderful Caity Weaver in The Atlantic is funny in such a brilliantly wry and self-aware way — capturing and critiquing ideas of tourism, city breaks, and the cultural flattening that happens when we gobble up a shallow and speedy experience of another’s culture. Much of this was true in Mark Twain’s time and remains painfully relevant in the age of the selfie.
Weaver writes ... “You make unhinged decisions in the pursuit of mild interest, such as getting into a car in the middle of the night with men you started talking to after you ordered too much ham, because it would be perfect for the story, actually, if you got kidnapped. And if you happen to stumble upon something that unexpectedly holds your attention, you are soon compelled to leave it — lest life fall flat when allowed to direct itself.”
2. Savour new music
Jacob Alon is a mesmerising Scottish singer-songwriter with a profound gift for storytelling. “Both intimate and devastatingly introspective, their music is touched by a rare timelessness. Alon’s sound cuts through the air with their powerful and haunting vocals”. Their debut album “In Limerance” is on constant play in our studio.
3. Savour "The Tide's Magnificence"
We’ve also been listening to the music of Molly Drake — filed in my (imaginary) music filing system somewhere between the albums of Nick Drake (her son) and Vashti Bunyan. Her album "The Tide’s Magnificence: Songs and Poems of Molly Drake" was released in 2018. Molly Drake never officially released her music during her lifetime, and these home recordings were private until posthumous discovery. Lucky us we get to hear them now.
4. Savour your cultural adventures:
Savour any summer travel you have lined up with some advance research. Deepen your understanding of the traditional music, language and food culture of that place. I also often try to find and bring home a cookbook from wherever we go, and keep the cultural discovery going.
Later this summer, we’re taking the ferry to west Wales, and in preparation for the trip we’ve been listening to lots of traditional and contemporary Welsh musicians. And now — with this brilliant playlist curated for Other Voices, Cardigan — we’ve got even more music research to dive into:
5. Take some Summer School History Lessons
Is summer the best time to finally get to grips with the long-tail impacts of the devastating colonial project on today’s geopolitical catastrophes?!
OK — so I’m not entirely sure how to tie this wonderfully researched and engaging podcast history series into a theme of savouring summer… and yet, I still really think you should listen to it. If you need convincing, start with this episode on contemporary Ireland.
6. Savour the gloaming!
The Gloaming's debut album is 10 years old this summer! One of our favourite tracks is, of course, Samhradh, Samhradh (Summer, Summer) — perfect for a moonlight drive home from a late midsummer swim in the sea - my heart bursts with joy at the line about the nóinín gléigeal (the bright little daisy).
🎧 Listen here
You can find a translation of the wonderful Irish lyrics here. And did you know that the "gloaming" is another word for twilight or dusk — that beautiful time when the sun has dipped below the horizon but the sky still holds its light.
7. Savour the work of teachers
It’s that time of year when plenty of people start moaning that they should have become a teacher. They have it so easy! Oh, the holidays!
But remember — you too could have become a teacher. You chose not to.
I had a wonderful English teacher in school. She was an independent maverick. She didn’t care whether a particular poem was on the syllabus or would ever come up in an exam. She preferred to follow what she believed would be valuable to her students in the long run.
She told us that once we knew a poem off by heart, it would become ours. “You can bring a poem with you anywhere,” she once said. “And when you are old, like me,” she promised, “you’ll reach into your memories and pull these poems out in times when you need them.”
One of the poems she made us learn was Leisure by William Henry Davies. And she was right — I still carry it with me.
But what she didn’t mention was that filed right alongside these poems in my memory is her. Her raspy smoker’s voice, her thick glasses, and her devil-may-care attitude.
Savour our great teachers. We’re lucky to have them.
8. Never forget the power of culture
Art, music, dance, theatre, stories… culture matters deeply. In the words of Palestinian American artist Samia Halaby…
“Every scrap of culture, from tribal art to cave paintings, matters. It’s who we are. Today’s futurisms, Afrofuturism and ecofuturism, are uniting, fighting oppression with bold visions. That’s the future: one movement for equality, not scattered dreams”
Read an interview with Halaby here:
https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/1216
FOOD:
9. Make elderflower cordial
The best summer rituals are simple — which makes them easy to repeat each year. And making your own elderflower cordial is exactly that: a low-effort, high-reward tradition that welcomes the season in the most delicious way.
Yes, you can easily buy elderflower cordial in the shops — but that’s not the point. Instead, pick 20 to 30 heads of elderflower now, while they’re fresh and fragrant. Soak the flower heads overnight with lemon and sugar, and savour the moment as your whole house fills with the rich, sweet scent of high summer. There’s nothing lovelier than stirring a big pot filled with tiny white blossoms.
There are plenty of simple recipes online. If you want to keep the cordial for longer, you can add a bit of citric acid as a preservative (we buy ours in a pharmacy). Or if that sounds complicated and this is your first time trying - skip it - just enjoy the drink over the coming weeks.
10. Plan your bilberry picking spots
Picking bilberries is more of a late-summer activity – but now, in June, you can start to stalk your future picking spots.
Bilberries (fraochán, Vaccinium myrtillus) thrive in temperate climates with cool, damp summers and mild, wet winters, and in acidic, nutrient-poor soils. Oh baby, yes – damp rain and poor soil! You’ve guessed it – bilberries grow in abundance around us here in Mayo.
Bilberries – often called fraochán or whorts – grow really well in Ireland and Scotland. In Ireland, you’ll find them in the Connemara and Mayo uplands, the Slieve Bloom Mountains, the Wicklow Mountains, the Kerry hills and bogs, and along the edges of native oak or birch woods.
What to look for
In early to mid-June, you might still see small pink or pale red bell-shaped flowers hanging singly beneath the stems. By late June, in warmer or sunnier spots, you may see the first green or reddish-purple unripe berries starting to form.
We’ll write a guide to bilberry picking and share a simple recipe later in the season – but for now, just start planning your picking spots.
11. Don’t eat salmon
Here in the west of Ireland, almost every restaurant will offer smoked or poached salmon on the menu. It might be described as organic salmon or Clare Island salmon. It sounds lovely – but don’t be fooled. Unless it’s wild salmon, it has been farmed in inhumane open-net cages.
Along the Killary Peninsula in Connemara and out in Clew Bay you will see the enormous fish pens - we’re told that salmon farming creates jobs and supports rural communities. And yes, salmon is rich in good oils. But the truth is: open-net salmon farming is causing serious harm to our fragile marine environments.
As consumers we have the power - don’t eat or buy salmon - If you care about the sea, choose something else. Opt for small, sustainable fish (anchovies!) and shellfish (mussels!) instead.
12. Make your own fresh herbal tea
One of the simplest ways to savour the abundance of wild plants in summer is to explore making lots of different types of fesh herbal teas (i dream one day of opening a fresh wild herbs tea shop)
Fresh herbal teas are easy to make and endlessly adaptable. The quantity of plants you use will depend on how strong you like your tea. Some herbs – like water mint – are bold and aromatic, needing only a sprig or two to fill the cup with flavour. Others are more delicate and may need a longer steep or a generous handful to shine through.
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Harvest and wash healthy, fresh wild plants.
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Place the leaves, flowers or sprigs in a teapot or heatproof jug.
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Cover with just-boiled water, give it a gentle stir, and leave to steep for around five minutes.
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Strain into a mug or glass and enjoy as it is – or add a little honey if you like.
Our favourites are nettle tea, lemon geranium, water mint, lemon balm, raspberry leaf and elderflower. We also have a Kelly's Kettle and make some teas when out together as a way to “taste the landscape” with our children.
13. Help Families Receive Life-Saving Food
Gaza is now the hungriest place on Earth.
While we reflect on summer’s abundance, it’s important to remember that not everyone has enough.
If you can, please consider supporting UNICEF’s emergency appeal. Your donation can help families in Gaza receive life-saving food, water, and essential supplies. Every gesture counts. Even a small offering can help nourish a child.
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Notes:
This is the first half of our Guide to 26 Ways to Savour Summer. We had some many ideas we have split this piece into two posts. We will publish the second half in the coming weeks.
This is a companion piece to "26 ways to make Winter a Little Brighter" which we published last January - you can read that here:
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