English Weather

People seem to get pretty down about the weather in London, but I've gotta say, it's amazing for me. No word of a lie, I much prefer this to Canada (so far). Hear me out:

• No snow...or at least very little. It's currently snowing in certain parts of Canada. I'd rather not be a part of that. But when it does snow here, people are all a-tizzy about it and act like children. Do you remember, Canada, what it felt like to experience snow as a child? Yeah, I'd forgotten as well, but these people aren't so over-exposed that they're complacent. It's wonderful. We had snowball fights.

• Along with that no snow thing, imagine no crazy freezing temperatures. Some of the people I've talked to didn't even realise negative 34C was a temperature people CHOSE to live in for months at a time.

• We may not be getting the extreme highs that Ontario is (unseasonally) getting, but then again, we're also not going from 28C to 6C in a 24 hour period. I'll take a consistent 12C or 14C for the better part of the spring, thank you very much.

• English rain is actually pretty calming and subtle. Granted, this week we've also had some serious thunder, but from what people at the pub told me, it's unusual and they were pretty freaked out by it all. I, of course, loved it. I was reminded of standing on the front porch or in the garage with my dad and watching the weather change and tire itself out. Today I was certain people thought I'd gone loony - I willingly walked home from the gym in an amazing downpour (including a moment of hail) with a huge grin on my face. It was just really peaceful and felt like the perfect moment.

• This is serious pants weather. And by pants, I mean trousers. Because pants are underwear, according to Brits. And I'd rather not talk about my underwear on the blog since my family reads this (shout out to Lilac Lingerie in Ottawa! I miss you!). So North America pants = trousers. I love trousers. I'm not huge on shorts and I've only recently really branched out into dresses and skirts, but oh man, can I rock a pair of trousers. Therefore, this weather is pleasing to my sartorial direction.

• Also, I hate to sweat. Or rather, I hate to sweat when I'm doing NOTHING. Sweating at the gym or because it is warranted it completely acceptable. But what I don't care for is sitting on a patio in the middle of Elgin St, having a drink with friends and feeling sweat run down my back. Humid, sweaty Ottawa, I'm sorry, you lose on this point too.

• The light here is remarkable. Even when it's overcast and rainy, it's still abundantly luminous. I like that a lot.

• Weather here is constantly changing, which I adore. I love getting up to a bright sunny day and getting things done, then getting a good dose of rain in the afternoon just in time for tea so that I get all snuggly on the couch. It's fantastic. Sort of schizophrenic, but fantastic.

So yeah, the weather is making my day, these days. And the rain is also brilliant right now because England has been in the worst drought in decades, so even if this isn't enough to make a huge difference, hopefully it helps a little. 

Down pour outside my gym this morning

Weather....or not

Now, I don't wish to sound as though I'm complaining (since so much of what I've written so far could come off in that vein if you weren't aware of my general sarcasm), but I don't own any cold weather clothing. The yard sale cleared me out of so many of the items I didn't wish to bring to England, and consequently, the majority of my winter wear. Let's be honest, I'm not expecting to need so many woolen turtlenecks in London. And I expect to replenish my wardrobe considerably upon arrival.

I'm also not a cold weather person. I have resigned myself to it in Ottawa and have subsequently purchased snow pants to combat my hatred of chills. But look at the difference in the forecasts today between London and Ottawa! I'm practically gleeful looking at London:

And then there's Ottawa. Today. Right now...outside my front door...brrr!

You'll all have to excuse me while I have a solo dance party in honour of my soon-to-be city and the best weather I could hope for it in October!

Only 45 days to go....