I don't think people understand how gross the heat is in London; New York and DC in a heatwave feels much better than the especially sticky humidity that occurs when temps hit 70s upward. I remember staying in a hostel during a heatwave and having to sleep in a top bunk. NOT fun.
@Princess Weeweepants: i think it's what you're used to. I grew up in London and I find Manhattan (although not the rest of the city) ten times worse in the heat, it's so much more humid.
We are currently having a blessed rain shower here in Wimbledon. They have even had to operate the new roof on Centre Court it has been coming ddown so heavily. Desite all the jokes , I love the traditional English weather because it makes our country so green and pleasant and not arid and desert like in high summer.
As much as I love London and especially in the summer, it is disgustingly hot. The tube is the worst, it's like being in an oven that smells really bad.
@cuteasabutton: Everything smells bad now; the Thames too, when it's hot, just reeks. Get out of the city! It's broiling up here too but we've got a nice breeze, and the college lawns are like lovely sun traps.
@cuteasabutton: Oh, and when that album came out I was working at the British Library all summer, and it was a really hot one (2006). That song pretty much defined that summer for me :)
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: We also only get summer on average once every 3 years...so it's kind of a shock to us. You don't expect London to be the same temperature as Barcelona...
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: Something about London just retains the heat. What's 30C in London feels like 40C elsewhere, not least because no one has air con. The Tube is particularly hellish; it's not even ventilated, let alone AC.
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: No. I've heard the climate of London compared to San Francisco, if that comparison helps. The snow that pretty much shut down the country was nothing special compared to what we get in Toronto or Montreal (or Boston or New York I'd bet) and the coldest it got was like, -10 celcius. Then in the summer it seems rarely to get above the low 20's, celsius, and it rains a lot. The past two summers were really, really rainy.
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: Sometimes we get a week of good weather around May. The sunshine at Wimbledon is causing serious national unease. The Great British Summer is usually 14-16C, with plenty of rain thrown in for good measure.
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: we do get summers it's just that they're nice and temperate and not godawful soul-sucking unable to breath monstrosities. Sorry i'm bitter at the moment, I hate being eight months pregnant in New York, my only consolation is that a)there's been so much lovely rain this year in the city and b) London would be worse.
@gherkinfiend: I think it depends on what you consider seasonal - I find New York completely unseasonal - it's either extremely cold or very hot, except for the odd nice month in May or September. Personally I think the UK has pretty clearly defined seasons, it just doesn't usually reach boiling point, which is nice in my opinion as I loathe air conditioning which always my skin feel vile.
@Skellatrix: I think it's lovely, it reminds me of home. It has been a great help to me during pregnancy although now sadly the evil heat has arrived and thus i have been poleaxed with migraines and vomiting once more. I really should remember not to get pregnant for a new york summer.
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: According to a British friend of mine, the Gulf Stream keeps the UK's weather pretty constant and moderate (assuming Global Warming doesn't seriously weaken the Gulf Stream).
@MissMoneypenny: That's what I've heard too, and nobody here (SF) has AC either. Luckily we can drive 5 miles west to the lovely freezing Pacific Ocean.
@lostinsainsburys: It's on the south side of the river because the Gherkin is in the East end and on the north side? I didn't think Richmond Park was that close though?!?
@lostinsainsburys: The image of the city seems far too close for Hampstead Heath. Looks more like Blackheath to me. But it could just be an optical illusion.
@Penny: I much prefer it when the snow falls down. Then EVERYONE is really happy. It's just too darn hot to be anything other than an endurance match at the moment.
The London Eye pictured was only supposed to be a temporary structure. After the first five years, permission was given to extend its life for a number of more years. I imagine it will eventually be given permanent status and be regarded as much an iconic part of the London view as Big Ben and Tower Bridge.
@Spenner: It's awful enough as it is without being pregnant! The northern line is the worst, just a bunch of sweaty smelly people all packed in like sardines!
@Spenner: I hope people offer you their seats on the tube. They often have for me in the past and I have neer been pregnant. Just suffered from fibroids.
@Rare Affinity: You must not have been on the Victoria line! Sometimes they do, in fairness, but most people have a great blank stare on the go, especially in the mornings. And it's never the people who sit in the 'for the disabled, pregnant or less able to stand' seats that bother. I've started giving them the evil eye.
The thing is, you can't be sure that someone isn't suffering from awful back pain like poor dear Plum Sykes, so MAKING them give up the seat isn't really an option. You just have to hope.
@Spenner: trust me New York is worse. People never ever offer you a seat on the New York subway and i'm now eight months pregnant. And they don't even hide behind their papers like in london they just opening stare you out, the fuckers.
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We're actually not enjoying this weather trade. We'd like to trade back now.
Thanks,
Boston
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I track a Tucson station and when I asked when in the hour I was supposed to do weather I was told - "we don't - it's always just hot."
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Oh sorry, my Southwestern is showing again.
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I think Lily Allen said it best:
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@MissMoneypenny: I didn't know that! I didn't think it was uncommon enough to have hot days to the point where AC wouldn't be common.
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30 C heat or several inches of snow are serious events to us and because they are rare, we can't cope with either!
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@gherkinfiend: I think it depends on what you consider seasonal - I find New York completely unseasonal - it's either extremely cold or very hot, except for the odd nice month in May or September. Personally I think the UK has pretty clearly defined seasons, it just doesn't usually reach boiling point, which is nice in my opinion as I loathe air conditioning which always my skin feel vile.
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Do not want.
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The thing is, you can't be sure that someone isn't suffering from awful back pain like poor dear Plum Sykes, so MAKING them give up the seat isn't really an option. You just have to hope.
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(oh man, that was awful. Cucumbersome, even.)
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