Wednesday, April 8, 2015

The Most Seasonally Affected People

WARNING CONTAINS: gross exaggerations about whole nations of people, weather, more weather, a pinch of meteorologic description, mocking, sarcasm, genuine admiration, and a bit of me. 

I've been meaning to the write this since the weather first began to improve, i.e. not be cloudy and 7C/45F and probably rain everyday. But now that things have really sprung, hehe, get it spring/sprung, the Brits are at a whole other level. Let me introduce you to the most seasonally affected people in the world.*

The first day it was brightly sunny for a whole six hours and there was nary a cloud in the sky, though it was still about 9C...ok, I'll be generous and say 10C/50F, I saw someone in a tank top. Sunglasses became conspicuous and at the entrance to the grocery store I saw displays of cute watering cans. Spring flowers were out for sale, ready to be placed on windowsills in the hopes that their mere presence would keep the sun's attention. 

Then there was the day when it was reasonably sunny, a few cumulus clouds trying to bully their way into a shower, but moving on towards a mild 12C/53F. There were shorts adorned and many an al fresco lunch spotting. Garden center (like a nursery in America) parking lots were full. There were gardening gloves of every color and shiny sheers in the windows of the hardware stores along side the displays of Easter everything. 

Whereupon the temperatures broke 16C/61F and the sky held nothing but the most distant wisps of cirrus clouds, all of Britain took to the outdoors, threw up their heads and sighed in unison, "Ah, spring!" People milled about in the sunbeams muttering, "What a beautiful day," to themselves in marked awe. Garden centers had lines/queues twenty patient Brits deep. A Bank Holiday spontaneously broke out. And fire hydrants were burst to relieve the heat! 

Ok, so that last one didn't happen. They don't "bust hydrants" here unless it gets to be what I call "Melty Brit weather" or when temps reach over 30C/86F (that's not a joke).  What does occur though feels like a weight being lifted from nearly every person. They are so much cheerier when it is sunny. The sun here feels warmer. Not warmer than Atlanta in July, but warmer than DC during cherry blossoms. And it seems to heat the British from the inside out. They smile much more easily. Each neighbor dying to tell you what has started to bloom in the garden they take such pride in daily. The parents outside the school gate declare that the MET office (that's THE meteorology office) has proclaimed that things will only get better; surely a heat wave over Easter will bring temperatures to a rapturous 24C/75F.

Early April also brings a long school holiday, two weeks or more, and several of the aforementioned and sacred Bank Holidays. Every garden center, National Trust house and garden, library, town/village council, church, and museum have some thing going on. I've mentioned before that school holidays where I live are a bit bewildering. Every regular activity for families stops but there are three dozen to take their place. Just today, a Wednesday, not even a Bank Holiday there are at least 24 special kid/family events on in Surrey county. There's Shaun the Sheep at Kew Gardens, pirate themed art at a few spots (is that Eastery? Springy? Arg!), Egg trails, Bunny hunts, arts and crafts, and a mill-your-own flour event. Yes. Mill your own flour. 

For all my teasing, I do find it endearing that a people so cursed with grey, rain, damp, and chill at least genuinely appreciate it when the leaven in the lump, i.e. spring and summer, stand gloriously before them. A good spring day does make one feel lucky to be alive and appreciate this green island** as well as it's truly, madly, deeply seasonally affect population just a wee bit more.


*did you miss the warning at the top about exaggeration? deal with it. 
** Ireland, just for today they get to use that color too. It is pretty darn green.