Good grief; I'm British!
As I was waiting for the 'New Post' page to open I was contemplating possible titles for this post, and those that immediately came to mind all involved comment on this rain. Hence I have opted for a title that officially 'outs' me as one of those typically British sorts who talks about the weather when there is little else to make smalltalk of.
In my defence, British weather is perhaps somewhat more interesting than that experienced elsewhere on the planet. I am led to believe that the Innuit have a considerable number of words to describe snow. Likewise we have rain, downpour, 'cats and dogs', drizzle, spitting, persistent rain, 'wet rain' and, thanks to Francis Wilson, 'mizzle'. The list goes on. Similarly we experience all manner of winds and strengths of sun, as well as a spot of sleet, hail and snow from time to time.
The thing that makes British weather a talking point is its shear unpredictability, save for spring and summer bank holidays and my daughter's birthday, when it is almost certain that it will 'lash it down' for the full 24 hours. Whereas in most countries the weather can be predicted by season (summer means it will be blisteringly hot with little or no rain for several months, for example), the seasons mean little in Britain. Winter is usually coldest, summer warmest. The rest is up for grabs.
Clearly it hasn't rained for two months solid, but right now it rather does feel that way. Both of my dogs are soaking wet, dirty and smelly; the tumble dryer hasn't had a rest since we acquired it at the end of last year; the grass needs cutting, as do the hedges; my hair is developing a permanent kink and I am so fed up with my rear wiper getting stuck that on occasion I have contemplated stopping the car and ripping the damned thing off! Lucky me, however, to only have these small annoyances to whinge about.
Where am I heading with this? I have no idea to be brutally honest. There are so many rants wanting to be aired that in part I don't know where to begin, but professionalism stops me also. I think it is just the need for a change, even if it is only in the weather. Each morning I look out of the window and I think "Why?", then I move on to "How?".
Still it just keeps on raining.
In my defence, British weather is perhaps somewhat more interesting than that experienced elsewhere on the planet. I am led to believe that the Innuit have a considerable number of words to describe snow. Likewise we have rain, downpour, 'cats and dogs', drizzle, spitting, persistent rain, 'wet rain' and, thanks to Francis Wilson, 'mizzle'. The list goes on. Similarly we experience all manner of winds and strengths of sun, as well as a spot of sleet, hail and snow from time to time.
The thing that makes British weather a talking point is its shear unpredictability, save for spring and summer bank holidays and my daughter's birthday, when it is almost certain that it will 'lash it down' for the full 24 hours. Whereas in most countries the weather can be predicted by season (summer means it will be blisteringly hot with little or no rain for several months, for example), the seasons mean little in Britain. Winter is usually coldest, summer warmest. The rest is up for grabs.
Clearly it hasn't rained for two months solid, but right now it rather does feel that way. Both of my dogs are soaking wet, dirty and smelly; the tumble dryer hasn't had a rest since we acquired it at the end of last year; the grass needs cutting, as do the hedges; my hair is developing a permanent kink and I am so fed up with my rear wiper getting stuck that on occasion I have contemplated stopping the car and ripping the damned thing off! Lucky me, however, to only have these small annoyances to whinge about.
Where am I heading with this? I have no idea to be brutally honest. There are so many rants wanting to be aired that in part I don't know where to begin, but professionalism stops me also. I think it is just the need for a change, even if it is only in the weather. Each morning I look out of the window and I think "Why?", then I move on to "How?".
Still it just keeps on raining.
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