Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Weather

I will start this blog with something as cliche as the weather - but it is never that cliche when you are here. Weather in the UK is as unpredictable as it is predictable - you always know that it is going to be shitty anyway. But it tends to surprise you when you are not expecting it - but of course the weather forecast seems to be 100% correct here, or at least in all the times I have paid attention to it. But of course you can't go wrong - you are going to have a windy day, a bit of the sun and massive clouds, that is the drill.

This year Spring came very late, by April if I am not mistaken it snowed in one of the days which was quite shocking and we couldn't stop talking about it - and by we I mean the tropical foreigners. Even now in May it is still quite wintery at times, it always feel as if we were going back to Winter. But then the Bank Holiday was very pleasant and so was the weekend preceding it.

But the point I would like to make is that talking about weather in the UK is quite a normal thing. Why? Because it is the point of conversation. When you have a sunny day you will have to talk about it cause it never come easily. And when it is dark and gloomy you will have to complain about it. So at the end of the day you are talking about it.

I remember I was told that the awkwardness of an English was one of the key reason for talking about the weather. When the conversation is going south, drop in the weather commentary or at least start with it to prevent any misfortunes. Now this is an interesting take. It holds water and it doesn't at the same time. We will walk about the awkwardness of the English, stereotypically of course, in another post. But over the period I have realized that I am talking a bit too much about weather too. It is contagious and much more for me the tropical boy. When the sun comes out, you drop everything and lay on the lawn or take a walk. And make sure you are fast enough not to miss it. I tend to watch weather forecast like I have never before. It is really about planning your week. You have to know when to prepare yourself with an extra dose of jollyfullness just in case you will need it.

Let's talk about the clouds. I have never seen in my life, angry clouds like the ones here. Even when you are set to have a good sunny day, all of a sudden a massive cloud will just pick up speed and dangle below the sun and your picnic is ruined. During this process, I have become quite perceptive of the movement of the clouds. For example, I know how long it will take for that cloud to pass. Gone are the days when I wouldn't pay attention to the direction of the clouds. A stupid decision undertaken without paying attention to the direction of the cloud might lead you on a morbid pavement. So I suggested to a friend that the UK government should put some big fans to push the clouds away; that will be a good project and helpful to the Britons.

Did I mention the drizzles. I have heard Manchester is quite miserable at this. But here in Hertfordshire it not that bad. You might go to the supermarket and you will only have a couple of polka dots on you. But it still drizzles, exacerbating this sense of melancholia. Life of life. It can be quite continuous sometimes and so you really need a cup of coffee - I do. And of course and umbrella.

Of course speaking about weather in UK one cannot overlook the effect of global warming. As Spring is overshadowed by a seemingly long winter, the summers tend to be quite hot - it is said that a heatwave will hit this year and many people might die. Climate change guys, it is real!!!

Is there any connection between weather and the people? I am just going to leave this to you. But all I can say, I really respect Britons for putting up with this weather - and most European countries which do :)

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