An UN-Typical London Day

Pretty much everyone we speak with about living here in London asks us two questions: 1)Does it rain all the time, and 2)How do you see through the fog? I'm not a native Londoner, but I have been here for almost a year and have now experienced all four seasons. This is how I answer those questions.

1)No, it doesn't rain all the time. We do live on an island, so we don't get droughts and tumbleweed blowing over the road, but I've found that I feel like it doesn't rain anymore here than it did in Houston, which is also a tropical location. I decided to put my feelings to the test and did a little google research (that probably doesn't surprise many of you). This is what I found-the normal yearly rainfall total for Houston is about 46 inches...London-23 inches. That's right! Exactly half as much...guess my "feeling" was right!

2)What fog? The whole "fog so thick you can't see your hand in front of your face" thing is a myth. However, this was a very real phenomenon up until the mid-1950's, when "pea-soupers" were a common London occurence. Just imagine millions of people living in close quarters all burning coal at the same time to keep themselves warm. Can you see the smoke? Now combine this with some natural, clean fog and you've got quite a mess! Did you know that "smog" was first coined by a Londoner in 1905 to describe the nasty stuff? Thankfully, in the late 1950's, the Clean Air Act was passed, which greatly reduced the pollution. The numerous coal factories were closed, but in typical English fashion, the buildings MUST NOT be torn down! One of the factories is now the Tate Modern Museum and I think at least one is being considered for condos. It is difficult to do anything with the buildings because the expense of cleaning and converting them into anything functional is outrageous.

So, please, get the rainy-foggy London out of your head! We have beautiful blue skies and sunny, cloud-free weather all the time! Although I do have to say that today it is cold, rainy, AND windy...anything BUT typical. ~V