Rain, rain go away...

As the month comes to a close we have had repeated weather reports announcing it's been the wettest April on record and incredulous news reports about how the UK is still officially in a drought. I don't mind either way as I rarely use a hosepipe and we have a water butt to collect rainwater in. I do, however, find it bizarre that a bit of rain causes everyone so much distress as though they've never seen it before.

It's like we've all forgotten what a normal Autumn is like with the almost constant drizzle and permanent feeling of dampness and that smell of wet coat that followed you around in your schooldays. What amuses me most is the small talk we make about it. A friend once told me about an American who commented that she never understood why the British are so obsessed with weather until she moved here. Then she realised that weather is the main topic of conversation (other than tea) because we have so much of it. In a single day it can go from torrential downpour to blazing sunshine and back again by bedtime.

To make this demoralising experience bearable we have adopted a few choice phrases that are bandied about when we have this climate. Some of my favourite lines are:

"Nice weather for ducks"

"Well the garden needs it"

"It's the kind of rain that wets you right through" (as opposed to that really dry rain you mean ?)

In our house we also have the twin joy of having a toddler who has discovered the joy of jumping in puddles (I blame Peppa Pig for that !) and a cat who when he comes in cannot disguise that he has been in the rain as a) he miaows loudly to be dried off with his special towel and b) he smells of wet fur and that smell travels !!

Of course following a weekend of dismal weather it was gorgeous and sunny today and with Bank Holidays coming up we can look forward to a few more rained off barbecues before the Summer does finally dawn on us.

Oh do you see what I did there ? I managed to blog what would usually be a bus stop conversation. Thanks for listening :o)