1. Pollen. Hideous stuff that results in weeks of sneezing, sniffling and itchy eyes. If that wasn’t enough, it also spurrs on regular nightly asthma attacks that come so infrequently that when they do, I’m flailing around looking for an inhaler.

2. Heat. It’s hot. I know, I know. Hot is good. Everyone likes it hot. Or, ‘You’ll get used to it’. But for me, not as easy as all that, you see, I have ectodermal dysplasia. A special kind of ED that leaves my body unable to cool itself properly. So, I get hotter and hotter, and it can take a very long time to cool down. In the extreme, it can be a killer. Literally.. my doctor in the UK didn’t think I took it seriously enough, and told me a story about how a boy with ED Was taken to Egypt on holiday, and he overheated and died. Last summer I overheated and passed out. This Summer, in the new place, I’ll have air con. Hoping that will help.

3. Itchy. As a part of the ED, my skin can be a little dry, and that coupled with the pollen means I get incredibly itchy and sensitive skin to everything. My usual hyper-allergenic laundry detergent is no longer available and I tried the regular sort and yeah, it’s not working out and as a result, I’m reacting to the sheets on my bed. Grrr!

4. Clothing. I enjoy being able to layer tights and dresses and knee-high boots (yay I finally have a pair!). With my curvy shape, I feel a little uncomfortable in the knee-length skirts and dresses I find I tend to wear due to the heat.

5. Burnable skin. Well that and having had a brush with cancer, for me, tanning is out of the question. And yet, I feel incredibly out of place amongst the sea of brown in Sydney with my pale limbs. I tried out a spray tan last week, and I’m not sure it agrees with me. I liked the colour, but it didn’t last long, and the girl put it on a bit unevenly. I’ve since had advise about them, and been given the name of a place to go to that’s better. So.. that might hopefully solve that.

6. Buses or trains without air conditioning. This ties into number 2. It seems to be random, and impossible to predict which buses or trains that come along will be saunas… and I had a few close calls on public transport last summer. I know, I need to learn to drive and I was going to sit my learners this week, but the house move kind of stalled that.