Rain

I have to admit that of all the trails and difficulties I have living and teaching in the UK, the weather is surprisingly quite low on the list. I remember this time last year trudging through a wet spring that I should expect similar weather when I lived in England. I have experienced periods of rain here, but quite manageable. Despite what the green grass, blooming trees and ripe canola fields may tell me, we are actually going through a drought for the last few years in East Anglia. It means that I have had it very dry and comfortable here. Last Saturday, it was a hint of more “normal” weather – rain non-stop from 14:00 to at least midnight. It was actually quite refreshing. Since I had no plans for the weekend except to plan for the upcoming week, I was actually quite content to sit in my flat and listen the rain fall whilst doing my paper work. And it was a proper rain, too, not just the drizzly rain we get here sometimes. This time we had plump fat raindrops falling straight down to the thirsty ground. After the weekend was done, reports were coming in that some areas had as much rain over a 36 hour span as they normally get over the month of May. Hopefully this will help to fill some of the reservoirs so the region does not have to go through a water ban that has been proposed.
One of the things I really like about life in the UK is the care and energy that many people put into their gardens, making use of the little space they have. All these great flowering and non-flowering plants grace the front of their house. If there is a water ban here, gardeners will be forced to re-think what kind of plants they will have, opting for the drier varieties, limiting their options.
This weekend, forecasts are for rain again, but I hope it holds off until Sunday. I’m going in to London again, this time visiting AJ and Erin (who should have arrived in the UK from Canada by now). An option for us is to visit the London Zoo, and I’d like to have sunshine for that! Well, if all else fails, I do have my brolly!