To tan or not to tan

Has anyone else noticed it's supposed to be summer? And what does that mean in today's society? For some, hay fever, for others an even bigger curse - getting a sun tan.

I've finally accepted I'm not the type that tans easily. Actually, hold the "easily" - I'm not the type that tans. Most of the time, it doesn't really bother me; I tend to wear long skirts or jeans, so my legs are usually covered, and my arms get a bit of colour, and that's it. But ... I have a keep fit/dance performance coming up at the start of July, and that means looking "healthy".

So for the last few weeks -since we were discussing costumes and my teacher mentioned the word "skirt" - I've been thinking what to do. A real tan or sunbed are out of the question (my brother once described me as going "brown as a lobster", and I was painfully aware how accurate that was). I've used one of those moisturising tans for three weeks or so, but my legs were still looking white until a couple of days ago, then I put it on carelessly and they went streaky. A magazine I bought recently had a review of different salon tans and I was considering whether I could justify - or even wanted - to do that. Then one of my colleagues came back from an overseas holiday ... and seeing her made me feel sick. Not with jealousy - I mean literally; my first thought was "Doesn't she care about skin cancer? And even if she avoids that, what has she done to the ageing of her skin?" And having seen her, I don't want to look like that, even if it does come from an aerosol and is totally safe. But I will be under the lights for the performance.

Then on Tuesday, my teacher finally revealed the costumes; a vest top in orange, turquoise or brown, a scarf tied round the hips and - oh joy - black trousers. So my legs will stay white for another year.