Why Do Brits Complain About The Heat?

We get this every bloody year, don't we?

Why are you complaining about the heat? Less than a week ago you were complaining about the cold/rain! You moan you never get any nice weather, and then when you do get some, you moan about that as well!

Oh and, It's hotter in Spain!

There are several reasons your average common or garden British person complains about the heat in summer. Let's break it down into manageable thought-nuggets for the hard of thinking:

1. We complain about the weather all the time.

It's what we do. Having a bloody good whinge (especially about the weather) is our national pastime, and it's mostly harmless. Let us get on with it.

2. "It's the humidity!"

Yes, it really is. I don't know if it's being an island, or weather patterns, or what, but it makes it a lot harder to cool down.

In case your attention wandered during science lessons at school (I'm not judging, a lot of classes were pretty boring) it goes like this: You sweat, it makes you clammy and gross, but this mechanism is supposed to help you cool down. When the air is also clammy and gross it doesn't bloody well work.

3. Our homes are designed to keep heat in.

This is going to sound mad, but in hot countries, buildings are designed and built differently. To keep heat out. Here, it's chilly most of the time, and our houses are designed accordingly. We're sweating cobs over here. Give us a break.

4. No air-con

Not only are our houses designed to keep heat in (which is excellent for 345 days of the year), we don't have air conditioning either. None at home, and none at work for most people either. Pity us!

5. We are just not fucking used to it OK?

Did anyone take the piss out of Texas for not coping in a "bit of snow"? Well, they probably did indulge in a bit of mockery, but the point is, they shouldn't have done.

Hot weather is one thing, but less than a week ago a lot of people here in the UK were scraping ice off their cars before work. We're currently suffering from weather whiplash.

6. Milk bottle legs

A lot of us are very pale and burn easily. Melanoma is on the rise. Forgive us for being slightly nervous of cancer while we cower in our homes from the fiery rays.

7. No siesta

Yes, it is hotter in Spain, but a lot of people still have a siesta in the hottest part of the day. The rhythm of their days, as well as their infrastructure us built around the heat. We don't have that.

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It is somewhat frustrating when people act like people are "too soft" or implying the heat "isn't that dangerous". Last time we had a heatwave, I had a friend rushed to hospital with heatstroke complications. She still has people telling her to lighten up if she is worried about high temperatures. If someone is geuinely worried about it, cut them some slack.

Yes, it is hotter in southern Europe. Guess what? Just a tiny handful of years ago, people there were dropping like flies from the heat despite the fact they're better equipped to deal with a hot climate. People died.

Back in my day we just called it summer... blah blah blah...

Yes, we also had very hot summers back in the sixties and seventies. Guess what? There were weather warnings then, as well. People suffered heatstroke then too. Not to be overly dramatic, but people died, then as well. Reservoirs were affected. Hosepipe bans are not a new thing. Maybe we didn't hear about it as much, or maybe the people remembering their childhood through rose tinted glasses are remembering their childhood; they weren't burdened with the same concerns as the adults around them.

Keep in mind, it's not Summer here in the UK. It's Spring. 30degrees+ is a tad excessive for Spring. Late August, alright, fine, but May? Really?

Anyway. Time for me to have a Solero and shut the fuck up.

Hope you are managing OK in the heat!