London’s most famously photographed sites: Tower Bridge and Big Ben (not since 2017 when we last saw the Clock Tower only half covered in scaffolding)
London’s most desirable pastime: visiting Madame Tussauds or riding the London Eye (the Millennium Wheel turns 20 years old this year!)
That’s what teens say when they sign up to travel to the UK with EduStride. Few other cultural expectations might be on their minds. These might include seeing cars drive on the left, hearing the particularly distinctive British accent(s), and viewing signs of royalty all around. Many students know about London’s reputation as the city of fog, and seem to be familiar with the unpredictable English weather. But only when they are in the UK do they come to realize how important the weather is to the British people and to those living in the country.
In our preparatory meetings, we point out certain cultural aspects, and we do tell students to account for rainy weather, for strong winds, as well as for strident sun. Layers are in order in as much as an umbrella and sunscreen protection. Very often, teens (or their parents) follow our directives as they are packing.
However, coming from Lebanon, a Mediterranean country where the weather is consistently temperate, you can’t help but think that summer days are all about fun in the sun; otherwise, your plans are ruined. Not so in England! Life simply goes on. You do not run to hide; you do not change your shoes; you do not cancel your outings! You simply pull out that umbrella, which you are likely to carry on you even if the day has started out with lovely sunshine. Students learn firsthand that while the English weather is an intricate part of people’s lives and conversations, it does not stop them.
Jeremy Paxman, a British journalist refers to the English unique “capacity for infinite surprise at the weather” but, at the same time, the English “are accustomed to the variability of [the] weather” and even “expect it to change quite frequently”, anthropologist Kate Fox explains.
In her book Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour, Kate Fox studies the common behavior that defines “Englishness” or the English “national character”. In the revised edition (2014), Fox comments on the national obsession with the weather by highlighting that, being so changing, the weather makes for a constant never-boring way to start a conversation. What she calls the “English weather-speak rituals” are governed by a number of unspoken etiquette rules such as actually responding to someone’s “Ooh, isn’t it cold?” and starting the response with agreement even if some personal preference might follow: “Yes, but I really rather like this sort of weather.” Then there is the intonation that indicates some more or less national preference or general taste: an apologetic tone for rain and a cheerful one for sunshine. The ultimate purpose, Fox explains, is “to communicate, to agree, to have something in common”.
What we visitors might not be aware of is that though the English spend so much time complaining about the weather, “foreigners are not allowed to criticize it” as if, Fox adds, the weather were a member of the family and any reference to the English weather not being interesting or dramatic is offensive. It is like a patriotic cause. Any “umimpressed foreigner” would trigger a lot of defensiveness. So, we visitors had better treat the English weather with respect and deference.
The weather is no doubt an intrinsic part of the British culture, and it is never boring: starting with the multiple words on the weather forecast app that range from drizzle, showers, to breeze and gale moving to the actual sudden downpours and the blustery days. Not to forget the sudden sunshine that feels like a special treat. And if the weather is not that fascinating after all, the British, and the world’s, fixation on it surely is!
A mild wind 
A gale
Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot.
We’ll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
(Anonymous, known as a nursery rhyme or a tongue twister)
