Daylight hours – simple bliss

We’re coming up to the longest day of the year. On 21 June good old Mother Nature is giving us 16 hours 38 minutes and 20 seconds of glorious daylight to play with. That’s literally a working day’s more light than the winter solstice in December. And it’s a Friday too – crying out for something special, right?

So, what are you thinking? Take the day off? Get the crew together and get out of town? Maybe the beach. You could get up early and see the sun rise at 04:43. Heck, you could stay up all night to welcome it in. Or just sit out in the park after work and watch the sun set at 21:21.

Whatever you do, drink it in. It’s a pure and simple pleasure worth savouring. As long as there’s no cloud cover (maybe check that) it could be one of the most memorable things you’ve done in a long time.

If you’re making the most of the sun during the day then keep this bud close to hand – UVLens is an app that will help you stay safe in the sun. It gives you an hourly UV forecast and keeps an eye on the time, so you don’t have to. It even sends you notifications to remind you when you’ve been out too long. You can personalise it to your skin type as well, and it works anywhere in the world.

After a long day in the sun what could be better than a BBQ? – Long evening, fire pit, and a great playlist to make the most of the light with. This beauty of an app will help you make sure there are no dodgy trips to the bathroom the next day – GrillTime gives you instructions on how to make and cook the perfect burger – it gives you a timer and even a flip reminder – perfect for when you should be concentrating on cooking, but your attention’s elsewhere with great chat and music with mates.

And when the sun has eventually faded from the sky and you’ve cracked open the marshmallows over the fire pit you can enjoy the stars with Night Sky app for iOS or Sky Map on Google Play – spotting the constellations, planets, maybe even a shooting star if you’re lucky – they’re our fave new natural wonder apps.

The longest day then – Mother Nature at her best – calming, natural, and doesn’t cost much. A simple, straightforward joy – bit like SMARTY really.