The Great Suffering of Britain

I've mentioned in previous blog entries how it seems that Brits suffer through inclement weather.  No one wears rain boots or uses umbrellas or hoods when it rains. Everyone just gets soggy. However, this observation has now extended to the colder weather. England clung on to summer for as long as it could however in November I would say fall finally hit. The leaves finally changed colour from their vibrant green (from so much rain!) and turned to a yellow (no red leaves!). The daily high stayed around the 10-12 degree range and at night it plummeted to 4 degrees. At this point I expected our football season to relocate indoors. It seemed crazy to expect that we would keep playing outside at night when it was so cold we could see our breath. But nothing changed! No domes were put over our playing fields and we didn't move inside. Gabel and I were shocked. As much as we are Canadian, an endurance for colder weather is not preprogrammed into our genes. In Canada we simply hibernate and avoid the cold. In England, they suffer. So at our football games it became a necessity to wear pants, gloves and hoodies. Those minutes when you were off waiting to sub back on feel like an eternity. The sting of the ball smacking your skin is that much more painful when your skin is cold and stiff. 

This suffering is not unique to the football season. My students (and all students) still walk to school wearing only their uniforms. No jackets over top their blazers. Ryde Academy is made up of many different buildings that are not connected by any indoor tunnel. In between classes, students suffer out in the cold. Additionally, before a class starts, students are not allowed to enter the room until invited to do so by a teacher. Therefore I always make sure to scurry over to my classroom right at the start so that I can get them in and out of the cold. On Mondays I take my year 7's to the library which is a good 2-3 minute walk outside without our coats. It never fails that they walk slowly, chatting with each other and I'm always at the back of the line shouting "Oi! Miss M is cold back here so lets pick up the pace!" 

Back home I adapt quite quickly to colder weather. Out comes the boots, hats, gloves, scarves, warmer jackets, etc. There's a barely perceptible difference in people's attire here. I am easily the most bundled up person at any point on my morning commute to work. Some people still wear trainers and a light leather jacket. It's December people! 

The best way I can describe it is that nationally there's a universal lack of adaptation. They just carry on the same as always. Some months are great, some months you suffer, and that's just the way it is here! I need to toughen up!