As a lifelong Englishman living in England, a country that has an English propensity for rain, I tend to hear these words very, very frequently.
“Oh, it’s raining again. What horrible weather!”
Why is it? Who decided that the rain is horrible weather? Was there some meeting that happened two hundred years ago where the opinions and actions of the nation would be carved in stone and ingrained within the psyche of everyone born into its culture. Rain equals gloom and doom, everyone will apologise for everything all the time, sarcasm will become our second language, forming queues must be taught from an early age lest there be chaos, a summer without at least 14 barbecues will be considered a tragedy and every third sentence must contain at least one sexual innuendo.
From the early rising workers of the morning and the town and city folk going about their daily business to the pub dwellers of the evenings and the perpetually boring weather reporters (every one of which seems to have the same type of voice and opinion set like they were created in a mass produced factory), it seems that almost every one of my countrymen and women have arbitrarily decided that sun is good and rain is bad. I’m surprised the Queen of England hasn’t committed an entire Christmas Day speech declaring that rain is officially an enemy of the crown and country followed by a Parliamentary declaration that we are now at war with rain.
Without rain our country would be a harsh, brown, bleak and desolate wasteland devoid of greenery, wildlife and the majestic beauty of our valleys, woodlands, rivers and reserves. I have said it before and I will write it now, I will never let the weather dictate my mood or how I feel about anything. I cannot for the life of me and mine understand why some people look out of the window and see something a bit dark and a bit wet that they suddenly lose the ability to feel those feelings of joy and positivity. At least the rain won’t give you sun burn.
I welcome the sun, the rain, the snow and the wind. As long as it’s not burning my face off, blowing my house to pieces or flooding the land then I will always have a firm appreciation for our unique and diverse weather.
Why can’t both the sun and the rain be good? Just two different iterations and definitions of the term and our general understanding of the nature of our weather system.
I couldn’t agree more!
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Rain is my favorite kind of weather along with overcast.. The sun is overrated, haha!
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Very well written, I love it.
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As soon as we moved from Northern Italy to England I appreciated how the weather constantly changes on this island. One moment it’s raining, the moment after the sun comes out, then the wind arises. I love it. In Italy, I lived on the flattest part of the Padana Plain and there the weather stays the same for weeks and the climate is humid and windless almost always. Here, I especially love autumn. It seems to be longer than in Italy. It reminds me of the long falls of my childhood. You know, that time of your life when you have the sensation that time never passes by and you will be a child forever 🙂
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My favourite time of the year is Autumn too. It is good to know that there are others who appreciate this unique weather that we share. Thank you for your international perspective.
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I’m an American living in Cornwall and as far as I can tell complaining about the weather’s either the national hobby or the national religion. Friends talk about wishing they could go someplace hot (you can hear the italics as they talk), then when it actually does get hot at home, they wilt.
I love it here, but I don’t get it. At all.
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Believe me when I say that I have never understood it either. But it wouldn’t be England if people didn’t complain about the weather, haha!
Thank you for dropping in Ellen.
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It’s a pleasure. I enjoy your writing.
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In my fmaily of origin English is a second language after sarcastic mockery. Great post. I appreciate your wit. I agree and don’t mind rain (I barbecue rain or shine). “Rain is grace. Rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain there would be no life.” John Updike
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Very true, without rain our land would be desolate and empty. Thank you for your kind words.
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The good read was my pleasure, Sir!
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