There you have it. Today is the end of the summer. There’s a new chill in the air, we’re past the last bank holiday of the year (no more quick summer escapes) and it’s the 31st August so you can’t really argue the point.

So, how might you mark this last day of summer?

1. Watch 500 Days of Summer featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises) and Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) – a refreshingly quirky and not-too-sugar-sweet romantic comedy about first love. And the title might just help to prolonge the summer feeling…

2.  Take advantage of our Buckley Bonanza offer (ends today!).  Last week The Sunday Times reviewed Christopher Buckley‘s new book They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? (published by Corsair) about US lobbyists who start a rumour that the Chinese have poisoned the Dalai Lama.  It presents Buckley as the author of ‘crackling dialogue and political sophistication…of up-to-the-minute satire’ but admits this particular novel ‘lacks the narrative urgency of his best fiction’. Perhaps then, it’s not as good as what they describe in the same review as ‘the deliciously acerbic Thank You For Smoking‘.  We’ll leave you to judge.

3. Nothing says summer like ice-cream so, if you’re London-based, head down to Covent Garden and The Icecreamists for some truly delicious scoops.  It’ll cost as much as your lunch and they’ve got a bit of an over-the-top-rockstar-marketing-theme going on (easy guys, the ice-cream sells itself) but try the Peanut Butter flavour and you’ll find it’s a worthy treat! . Failing that, I’ve had a penchant for mint ice-cream all summer and can recommend Morrison’s Mint Choc Cornettos, Waitrose’s mint ice-cream pot or you could try and make your own.

4. Read Rosamund Pilcher’s The End of the Summer and follow it with The September Garden, by Catherine Law to help you with this transition into the autumn season.

5. Avoid comments such as “Where did the summer go?”, “I can’t believe we’ll be turning the heating on again soon” or “I wish I lived in Bali.” They are not helpful.

Chiara Priorelli, Publicity & Online Marketing Manager