Rain, rain, stay a while?

This week it rained. Last week it rained. It wasn’t the moisturized air, with its spray-mist-like rain, but proper, hard, torrential downpours. And it was surprisingly welcome. While temperatures may not have reached the record-breaking summer of 2006 here in Britain, it has still been plenty hot for these northern locals. Local morning show rhetoric, (and by the way, British morning talk shows are possibly the worst form of television entertainment ever invented), has been filled with complaints about the apparent heat wave hitting the UK this summer. Restless nights, children and elderly alike struggling with heat stroke, and of course the dogs, the beloved pet of every Briton just can’t stand the heat.

And what of these soaring temperatures? Since summer set in (I’m told his occurred around June) the hottest day I can recall was an entire 78 degrees Fahrenheit.  And what of the humidity? Yesterday when the temperature reached 70 degrees Fahrenheit, a local girl commented to me how she could just not stand the muggy humidity. Why was it slightly muggy? Because it was raining!

But I really can’t judge because since living on this rock my own perception of hot and cold has become dangerously skewed. Not only do I not remember what an actual hot day feels like, but if temperatures soar above 70 I simply must take the bus and not expose myself to such heat. On the other end of the spectrum I do not forget to notice days when I need an extra sweater, rain coat, and light mittens to run to the store…in July. The other day we were both commenting to each other that the day was perfect, the air fine, and had everything one would need to make a wonderfully fair November afternoon. But it was July.

For a girl who more than enjoys her fair share of outdoor time each summer, this year has not been easy. But I have come to appreciate a good, hard rain and hey, maybe I’ll appreciate a stateside sunny day more so than before. That is if the hot sun does not melt me first.