pie-eater 207 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hi, back in the suburbs of Wigan (north-west England) now and enjoying the cool weather. But... whats that? I'm hearing "It's just so hot and humid" all the time and I'm thinking WTF?! and looking round thinking I'm going nuts. Actually it was quite warm over the weekend, but only maybe 26 degrees and it certainly wasn't humid - or not in the sense that I know anyway! Very comfortable if you ask me. It made me feel like a real gaijin here. A few other things have as well. It's a strange feeling to have, but emphasises the difficulties and easy to misunderstand issues that go on with communicating with people from other countries and other cultures and circumstances than your own frame of reference. I suppose I might have thought it was "hot and humid" here before I had lived in Japan and experienced that brand of "hot and humid". Interesting. Do we benefit and our brains evolve to a 'higher level' by experiencing life in other cultures etc or do we just get confused and mixed up? Anyway, pies for lunch. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 How about some stats Pie eater? I'd like to compare what Brits call 'hot and humid'. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 How long have you been away pie-eater? I found that after a couple of years away, going back was visiting a foreign country. I left the UK in (mumble) 1989, so its been a looong time now. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I suppose "hot" for a brit would be t-shirt weather, which is anything from 9 to 23 no shirt weather, 23 to 26 no shirt, shorts only, from 26 and mooning anywhere from 3 pints. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 It hit 30s over the weekend here. It was quite hot. I'm sure pretty tame compared to what you sweaty lot are experiencing over there though Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 It's all relative bag. Today was terrible for us. The top temp was 9 deg. C. driving rain all day long. Very cold. (for us) In summer it's common to get over 30 deg. Sometimes climbing to 40 deg. The humidity is usually low though. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Hitting around 30 degrees Mantas, don't know about humidity but certainly lower than in Japan. Thats about all I know. Today was pretty hot out there as well but it looks like it will cool down from tomorrow. Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I think it depends where you are too. In london its gets real sticky being a big city with all the cars and so on. But for sure it is much easier than Japan, the only bad thing is that in the uk people are less prepared for those few weeks of sun so there is often no aircon etc (as far as i remember). Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Good point Bobby - I find the same kind of thing but in reverse for Perth! We are ill prepared for the short period of cold weather we get in winter - our houses are not well set up for cold weather at all, and getting out of bed in winter here is harder than getting out of bed in Niseko in Janaury! The simple reason for that is that I do not have heating systems on all night long here - they are more the type you put on to take chill out of the air and then turn off! Brrrr!!! The toilet seat is especially chilly in the middle of the night!! I have fond memories of heated loo seats. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 A good wood burner does the trick Mamabear. The ex- used to complain about the time I spent splitting logs. Pearl used to love it when I pulled a mattress down in front of the stove at night, and put a log on the fire Pearl's dead. I miss wood burners. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 You remember right bobby12, though some shops now do have aircons. But yes hot weather is like leaves on the line (train stopped!) and that kind of thing...... soon causes problems - and ensuing moaning! Link to post Share on other sites
Greenroome 0 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I miss swinging the axe too, Soubriquet. I love it when you really hit the grain you were aiming for and the round splits so easily you could have used a quarter of the force and still aced it. And then there's the challenge of choosing an entry point to split a round with a nasty knot through it. Unfortunately, in Mama Bear's neck of the woods (my home town too), the burgeoning population growth has seen a ban imposed on the installation of any new wood combustion heaters. Won't stop me and my axe - I'll be moving to a village on the south coast on my return. Nothing like dry split jarrah... Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 Quote: I have fond memories of heated loo seats. Good them. They should have chilled ones in summer too. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Greeneroome, We are lucky that we live in a heritage listed OLD home - and it has lots of fireplaces! Most are boarded up, one is converted to a little gas fake flame thing (in the bedroom), but the one in the lounge room is viable...just need to get a sweep to clean it out - it has not been used for 6 years! We had a slow combustion stove in the lounge of our last home, and it was MAGIC lighting that up in the middle of winter at about lunch time - the house was toasty by the time the kids got home from school and by packing it full of the harder woods - the jarrahs or mallee roots before bed there would still be glowing embers by morning! Loved it! (I also had a kettle that I left on the top surface of it which meant no boiling the electric kettle!) For convenience sake the reverse cycle ducted air con is what we most use though. Shame. Takes the earthyness out of it. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 My aunty lives in Adelaide and we stayed there in summer and winter, what a difference!! Although the air temp was nothing as low as what we'd get in Scotland, in the house it was WAAAAAY colder. But they did have a wood burner in the living room and I loved piling the logs on that and getting the temp up. Listening to the crackle of the wood and the glow from the fire was awesome. reminded me of being very young when we had a coal fire in the front room!! I think Japan is like that as well TBH. My house is freezing in winter time and could really do with a central heating system, double glazing and proper insulation haha, its funny to hear of people moaning about how hot it is in Britain!! We are definitely a country of moaners, we moan when its too cold, then moan when its too hot. In fact we aren't happy unless we are moaning!!! Link to post Share on other sites
JA2340 16 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Absolutely! TB. Even moan when you get beaten at a sport you invented (cricket, for the uninitiated) by the descendants of your rejects! A thing that happens quite regularly, of late! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Originally Posted By: JA Absolutely! TB. Even moan when you get beaten at a sport you invented (cricket, for the uninitiated) by the descendants of your rejects! A thing that happens quite regularly, of late! haha, well now I'd like to differentiate between "Brits", which encompasses Sco, Eng, Wales and N.Ire, and "English" which is simply my southern neighbours, there is a difference!!. Cricket is crap and means nothing to me. (Mind you Scotland gets their arse whooped at every sport!!) Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 But they have Haggis and great shortbread! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 we sure do!! Now if only there was a sport that involved Haggis and shortbread!! Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver haha, well now I'd like to differentiate between "Brits", which encompasses Sco, Eng, Wales and N.Ire, and "English" which is simply my southern neighbours, there is a difference!!. I hear that so often. It's like there's a massive brick wall running the length of the border. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 The border is north of Carlisle or somewhere and the sign says "you are leaving the land of milk and honey, beware of sheep" Southbound carriageway. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Originally Posted By: Mantas Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver haha, well now I'd like to differentiate between "Brits", which encompasses Sco, Eng, Wales and N.Ire, and "English" which is simply my southern neighbours, there is a difference!!. I hear that so often. It's like there's a massive brick wall running the length of the border. mate there is....or should be!! Just cos Sco, Eng, Wal and N.Ire are the UK and a country politically (and only just in the present climate) does not mean that we are all one and the same! Its a Union of individual nations Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Rain on and off today and cooler. People still calling it "hot" though. I can only laugh! Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 looks like London is 15 degrees right now, so t-shirt weather. Link to post Share on other sites
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