The portend

Anticipation often brings on the inevitable. Today is no exception. I awoke early to the musical sound of 'plip, plop, plip, plip.' Once again it was raining. Today, however, is no ordinary day. It is the 15th of July - otherwise known as St Swithin's day - as the saying goes if it rains today then so shall it rain for forty days and forty nights. What a very wet Summer we shall have. The English, and I'm no exception, converse quite often about the weather. We live on a small island where the weather changes so often as to be noticable. A day may begin with clear blue skies and bright sunshine only to change in late afternoon into rolling clouds, a hefty breeze, clap of thunder and distant flash of lightening. The impression visitors may receive upon arrival to our shores is that we are obsessed with the weather. This is not really the case. We tend to use it in conversation. Where in other parts of the world people probably greet each other with "hello" here often the "hello" may be left out and the greeting go straight into conversation relating to the weather such as "Wasn't expecting this today, were you?" or "Just look at it, can't believe it, it hasn't stopped all day." There are a hundred and one variations, often spoken with an added nod. We don't really notice that we're participating in these conversations although they are ones that are spoken to milkmen, shop assistants and strangers at bus stops.