So far we are having a rather warm summer I'm delighted to say, but on the days that I'm at work I take the dogs with me and they sleep in the car until lunchtime when they have a lovely long walk in Balloch Country Park.  So - keeping them comfortable is top priority or I couldn't bring them with me, which would make us all unhappy!

A few weeks ago, when we were enjoying unbroken sunshine, I did some panic surfing and purchased a couple of new, and fabulous, items for keeping the car cool.

The first, and most useful, are called Window Sox, invented in Perth, Australia, where they know a bit about heat.  They are black net pockets which fit right over the rear windows of the car and fix in place with velcro strips stuck into the ends of the door (so not visible).  Not only do they provide much better shading than the usual stick on things, but you can leave your rear windows wide open for the breeze to circulate.  You specify what car you have and the pockets are a perfect, neat fit.

They are not secure, but are fab for my work car park, and I wouldn't hesitate to use them elsewhere too cos you can still leave the windows further open than you otherwise could.  It is not obvious the windows are open cos they're covered!

They're just fantastic and everyone should have some.  They can be found at: www.windowsox.co.uk

The other great thing for days of unbroken sunshine (which I know are rare in Scotland) is a sun-reflecting top cover made of lightweight silvery material - it covers all the windows of the car and prevents the inside from suffering the greenhouse effect.  It fixes on at the front under the wipers and wing mirrors and has a couple of stretchy straps which go under the car at the middle and back and hold it down.  The best thing about it is - it has zipped access to the boot so you can leave it on and still get the dogs in and out.  Once again - you buy the correct shape for your car so it is a good fit.

You can find it at: http://www.cover-systems.com/carcovers/page2c.htm