A temperate climate

Visitors to Britain are sometimes confused by the weather, especially if they're from somewhere in the middle of a large continent.

The main reason we talk about the weather a lot is that there's a lot of it to talk about. Sure, we have days when the sun shines all day. And days when it rains or snows all day. Or days when it's just a bit grey... all... grey... day. And then there are noticeable cycles, so in summer especially you'll see three or four sunny days getting gradually more humid before a large thunderstorm will blow it all away.

But we also have a very large number of changeable days. You need an umbrella and a raincoat and a layered approach to clothing to cope with unpredictable showers interspersed with sunny periods.

Some days you'll get up and see the sun shining. Continental types are wont to put on a t-shirt and leave coats and umbrellas at home but no, by 11am they'll be soaked and shivering under a tree waiting for the latest shower to pass them by.

Or else you wake up to rain, pile on the protective layers and end up having to strip them off and carry them awkwardly around at lunchtime.

We're not much better ourselves at dealing with this (I got a damp shirt today!) But we're less shocked by it than others less used to being surrounded by sea and on the edge of a huge ocean. It's bothersome but not a surprise. Tourists, on the other hand, can often be seen standing open-mouthed when a shower starts on a sunny day. Because they're used to weather sticking around. The shock is first of the sunny day being interrupted and then by an expectation that the rain will last.

In this country, when it comes to the weather, all you really know is "this too shall pass".