What to do when it’s so hot it feels like you’re walking through walls of soup?

Take a dip!

You may not have access to a pool or be in the mood to drive to the beach, but Eden Gardens is here to save you on a sweltering day. For $1,200 you’ll get access to a lovely pool, changing facilities, bucolic environment and towel service. If that’s too rich for your blood, you can access the pools at UWI and UTech. For a few hundred dollars you’ll be able to purchase a pool pass and swim to your heart’s content. Be sure to bring a towel and padlock for your locker.

EAT LIGHT

You may have to give up on traditional Sunday dinners for a while. Not only is cooking such a feast in front of a gas range torture, but the meal weighs you down. Additionally, the body produces a lot of heat from the metabolic process. Eat smaller meals comprising salads, fruit and steamed/grilled veggies intermittently throughout the day. Who knew that there were other benefits to the Mediterranean diet?

TRY THE EGYPTIAN METHOD

This one appeared a little suspect at first but when you’re desperate enough you’ll try anything. The process calls for damping a sheet or towel with ice water, wringing it out so that it’s no longer dripping and sleeping on top of it or placing it over you. It works (yay latent heat) for a few hours but then it’s back to square one when the night heat descends like the biblical plague. Combine this technique with a tab of Melatonin and an open window and you may just have a night of really good sleep.

A BOWL OF ICE

Not to eat, but when placed in the path of a standing fan’s stream, cool air will be dispersed as the ice melts. We didn’t say that it was going to look pretty, but we’re just trying to help.

THE GOOD OLE HOT WATER BOTTLE

Fill with tap water, freeze and keep it in bed with you. Place it on your chest, stomach, side or under your cheek (some of us sleep in weird positions). The bedfriendly ice pack will keep you cool without soaking the bed.

STRAIGHT OFF THE RUNWAY…

Fashion model, coach and mentor Stacey McKenzie is back on The Rock to scout locations, partners and participants for her well-known The Walk Camp slated for December this year. McKenzie will tour schools around the island sharing her personal story. From this tour she will choose 30 girls to participate in the empowerment camp. The mission of the Walk Camp is “to empower kids to value their uniqueness, inspiring them to find their individual voices”. McKenzie was spotted at the uber-fab Spanish Court Hotel with American director, producer and Primetime Emmy Award winner Anthony Hemingway. Hemingway is known for his work on Underground, Power, Treme, CSI: NY and American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. From peeking at his social media pages, SO2 has ascertained that the director/ producer is on the island doing a “likkle homework & research for a story that I can’t wait to share with y’all”.

PLUS…

Rihanna is living her best life! Whether she’s giving the paparazzi a reason for living with her stunning outfits (we are still catching our breath from the Met Gala) or when seen arguing with her billionaire ex-beau Hassan Jameel while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, there’s a little piece of all of us that wants to be Rihanna. Last week, Fenty Beauty hosted the UK’s first Fenty Beauty pop-up shop at King’s Cross Station. Though the Caribbean queen wasn’t on-site (did she even need to be?) hundreds of women showed up to support and get their hands on items from the highly coveted brand.

AND…

Toronto-based self-proclaimed Trini “soca junkie” Wanna Thompson caught the ire of Nicki Minaj and her fans (known as Barbs) after tweeting a seemingly innocuous missive – “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? Just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc. She’s touching 40 soon, a new direction is needed.” Well, Onika jumped into the young lady’s DMs and instructed her Barbs to eviscerate the young freelance writer. She received death threats, lost an internship and has been left “physically drained” and ”mentally depleted”. But the online fracas also resulted in her being interviewed by the New York Times.