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A well-drilled operation swung into action in Gravesend earlier this week amid forecasts that the town would once again be the hottest place in the UK.

An advertising campaign by Kent county council urged locals to drink plenty of water, “enough to make you pee at least four times a day,” it advised, and nearby Darent Valley Hospital issued warnings about the dangers of dehydration.

However, by Wednesday afternoon the town could only muster a relatively paltry 32C – eclipsed by large swaths of southeast England and a long way short of its 38.1C record, which was set in 2003.

At Gravesend Sailing Club, the members have just finished their yearly floor mop – an annual ritual they try complete on the hottest day of the year so it dries quicker. It might seem like the perfect day to be out on the water, but club secretary Roy Turner says the hot conditions make people “somnolent” rather than seagoing.

Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) Roy Turner, of the Gravesend Sailing Club, on life https://t.co/YECQQRzzCB via @audioBoom #gravesend

“What you wouldn’t want to do is go down below deck on one of these boats and try cook a meal in these temperatures – you would either explode or throw up or both. Being inside a plastic boat isn’t very comfortable either. But sitting in the back with a beer in your hand, it’s really rather nice,” he says.

Inside the clubhouse, members talk ruefully about the year Gravesend was beaten by a nearby village to the title of being the hottest place in the UK. “It’s nice that Gravesend gets on the map and gets a mention when it is the hottest town, which it often is but not today,” says Turner.

Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) Grey clouds in Gravesend, which is good cos I'm IN THE MIDDLE OF THE THAMES https://t.co/DFscBGsPFH

Soaking up the rays on a bench on Gordon promenade, Veronica Josh, 70, and her friend Jean Reay, 71, say they took no notice of the health warnings urging people to stay indoors between 11am and 4pm.

“We didn’t want to do any housework so we said let’s go down the park for an hour,” says Josh, who is recently back from a holiday in Barbados where it was, she says, “hot hot” compared to Gravesend which is just “hot”.

Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) Gravesend update: it's 'hot' but it's not 'hot hot' pic.twitter.com/W8kmInOd6G

Brandishing a bottle of factor 30 suncream from her handbag, Reay says she read the official warnings in her local newspaper but decided it was “especially for oldies” and ventured out anyway. “We took a lot of notice, didn’t we?! We’re staying here all afternoon.”

Along the promenade, Harinder Badatch, 45, and his wife Sukhjinder, 39, have been able to get a rare day off work to take their son, Samanpreet, 9, for an operation at the dentist. This is the only time they get to spend time together as a family, outside of family holidays. “You go to work, you come home and you haven’t got time to do anything with the kids,” Harinder says.

“There’s so much pressure on life in general. It’s such a stressful environment. It’s such a mundane ritual. Especially in Gravesend, the only time they have is to come to places like this. It’s nice, it’s close, it’s clean. Otherwise you’ve got to take out a whole weekend to go further.”

On Wednesday afternoon, the parade was half empty with only a couple of young families and retired couples taking in the heat by the Thames estuary. By this weekend, town officials hope it will be full to bursting as the town’s 169th annual regatta swings into life, boasting a summer carnival queen competition and a giant funfair.

“Sometimes it’s a great family atmosphere here but the last couple of times I’ve been here there’s been kids chasing each other with knives,” says Harinder. “They all stand up in the car park area. It’s a real shame really.”