#Fed up with the weather - it’s official ! The winter that won’t END

Okay, Okay I give in...It’s  not that I mind a bit of rain or snow, I am English so part of my DNA is to constantly ask about the weather, check the forecasts, have a moan, but enough is enough. I just want it to STOP!

I’m going to have a ritual jumper burning event when the sun does eventually show its face. I am sick to the back teeth of layers, jumpers, scarves and coats. There is now nothing in my wardrobe that I like; I actually hate my boots, which is sad because I’ve always been a bit of a boot person. I am fed up with cleaning them every time I come back to the house.

I now choose my clothes every day with the “How cold will it get” attitude, resigning myself to the knowledge that it is unlikely I will be warm or dry for long rather than the “ooh I’m having a pink day together with sunny disposition I seem to recall I once had. I used to check to make sure I had my make-up bag and travel card but now forgetting my umbrella and/or gloves sends me into a stress as I know it will end in tears..

It doesn’t help that I have two dogs for whom the word ‘Walkies!’ is such a joy that they will put up with any inclement weather issues. I have even tried opening the front door to show them that it is blizzard conditions, blowing a gale or pouring down, but they just look at me and wag their tails, for them it is an adventure, exciting something filled with promise. I wish I had their outlook on life, it is so simple; I seem to remember that I did once, but that was in another life, when it was sunny. For me the joy of walking my dogs in the woods has been replaced with the sure fire fact that it is yet another time I will have to negotiate bogs and rivers that used to be paths, slipping, sliding and inevitably falling and getting boots stuck in the quagmire.

My friend owns a sun bed shop and business is booming. I was in her shop the other day and a steady stream of people, men and women, young and not so young, were coming in for a dose of rays. They certainly were not what you would call TOWIE followers who just want to be orange. These were people who just wanted to feel some warm rays on their skin, even if it was only for a few minutes.I think we are a nation on the brink...

 I know I am a bit of a wuss where cold/wet weather comes in. I live in South East London, so I am sure that the weather we are experiencing is almost tropical compared with the rest of the country. I have read the articles of people freezing to death after a night out whilst walking home - how terrible is that. The other day it was 6.30pm and I was in my onesie with my bed socks on (warmed up on the radiator first of course), the door was locked the curtains were drawn. I had just been to Sainsburys (about 100 metres from my home) and decided that I couldn’t risk going out again...sad but true...

I actually stopped my car the other evening and got out and checked that my headlights were working, because the car was so dirty that I wasn’t sure. And before you all shout at me I have a soft top (you know one of those cars that everyone wishes they have -when it’s sunny...) but I can’t go through the car wash. So I ended up spitting on the headlights and cleaning them with my glove, just so I could see to get home.

But it was different this time last year - the end of March 2012 I had a barbeque in my garden...I did...and it was hot and sunny and we got sunburnt. I’m not imagining it, my brain hasn’t rotted under the weight of all the water and snow, honest. It was unusual, I’ll grant you that, I remember uttering the words, “ooh, if this is what global warming is doing that I can live with it” Shallow I know, but it just made us all feel so much better, people had smiles on their faces and everything in the world was fine and lovely and fluffy.

My friend is moving to sunnier climes next week. She and her husband and children are packing up and going. They have had enough of the weather and the state of the country and want to start afresh. Like she said, we will still be broke and have to work really hard, but at least it will be sunny...

Cathy x