Summer is the time for laid back fun: relaxing on the beach, swimming and playing. In Cyprus we spend much more time outside than other countries due to the long and hot summers. Last summer (2009) there was a very sad death of an 11-month-old boy at a beach in Kissonerga, I would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone how to keep you and your family safe at the beach and in the heat. Beaches and the Mediterranean are relatively calm in comparison to oceans, but don’t be deceived as there have been many fatal accidents and near drownings. Recently, a mother was standing in the sea holding her 11-month-old baby boy when a strong wave went over them. The mother could not hold on to her baby – the wave combined with the strong current took the baby away. Despite speedy bystanders who helped find him at the bottom of the sea then desperate measures to revive him at the scene, they ultimately could not save him. He died 2 days later at Nicosia hospital where he had been urgently t...