What everyone is talking about this week: We need to trim school holidays — or give parents a tax break

We have had, by most accounts, an excellent summer. It rained a lot less than expected following the driest spring on record; the heatwaves, although unpleasant, were short lived; and, as we sipped rosé and took our surfboards to the beach, it felt a lot as if we were having our cake and eating it, too.

Although sunnier climes have their pitfalls (lower yields on potatoes, broccoli and hay), most people have embraced what they have brought to the table. Local tourism is thriving, music festivals are being held in record numbers and wine snobs are drinking Nyetimber. Yet one demographic has been broadly sidelined from the fun. For parents looking after children—in some cases, up to 10 weeks — summer has been a time of envy and fatigue.

Those without children or whose kids have flown the coop can easily forget the challenge of looking after youngsters, especially when the weather is so enticing and throws up more opportunities to be missed. What is the point in there being any fun if duties prevent you from joining in?

Many of the parents I spoke to said they’d wanted to take a holiday à deux, but couldn’t (only a few had their own folks nearby and willing to look after their grandchildren for a spell) or had grand designs to go fishing or dancing with friends, but ended up staying home because the babysitter was away.

Those with children in primary school are especially frustrated, believing a month at home with them to be more than enough. The solution, they say, would be to change the school calendar, conceived back when children were expected to be home over the summer to work in the fields and prepare for harvest. This would mean having two one-month holidays at different points in the year: one in summer and the other around Christmas or Easter.

It seems like a reasonable idea, but how to summon the political will? British policymakers have historically been unkind to parents. As it stands, looking after children for two consecutive months is only one of many difficulties they face, together with exorbitant childcare costs and nursery hours that don’t line up with those of the workplace.

In France, new parents are afforded a tax break. The great and good may be summering in the Cotswolds as they once did in Antibes, but when it comes to supporting parents, we could learn a thing or two from the Continent.

Oysters are back in business

Glancing at any menu this summer, you’d be forgiven for thinking the rule about eating oysters only in -R months had been tossed out. It still holds, however, that September is a bumper month for the marine aphrodisiacs, which have enjoyed a lovely summer in warmer-than-average waters.

Oysters have emerged as the latest frontier in tasting culture: a worthy successor to cheese and olive oil and a welcome antidote to water. (Yes, there are water tastings now.) From local fisheries in Cornwall to London’s hippest joints, they are being served under every declension imaginable. To sample the wildest concoctions, head to Mayfair, where mere simplicity is, as ever, forbidden. At Park Corner Brasserie (22, Park Lane), the oysters are crispy fried and paired with a cucumber and spicy bean sauce. At The Guinea Grill (30, Bruton Place), you’ll find them tucked into a rich Beef and Guinness pie.Yet more eyebrow-raising is Niklas Ekstedt’s variant (3–5, Great Scotland Yard). Known as the Flambadou Oyster, it is basted in molten beef fat using a red-hot cone, finished with a silky beurre-blanc sauce. If this sounds overwhelming, fret not. The London Oyster Championships, September 19 at Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill (11–15, Swallow Street), will decide for you which to order or avoid.