The British have a reputation for being particularly keen to talk about the weather and now most people have access to a good-quality camera on their phones, social media is a great place for people to share their photos. A page has been set up on Facebook called Weather Watchers in Rye and surrounding areas for people to post local shots of our crazy, fascinating, fickle weather. A selection of these will appear in Rye News from time to time.
Our weather is unpredictable and in the last couple of years we have seen some dramatic storms. The British Isles are located where different air masses meet, from the Atlantic, Europe, and the Arctic, which makes the weather changeable and difficult to predict. This variability gives people a frequent topic of conversation since conditions can shift drastically even in a single day.
In British culture, talking about the weather is a safe, neutral topic that avoids controversial subjects like politics or personal issues. It serves as a polite way to initiate conversation, especially with strangers, without getting too personal and it is a unifying topic of conversation. Complaining about the rain or remarking on a rare sunny day creates a sense of camaraderie and the sharing of experiences.
This week marked the last opportunity to see the “comet of the century”, A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), before it disappears for another 80,000 years, and luckily two local residents – Barry Yates and Ian Rowlands – captured it for Rye News readers.
Image Credits: Tristan Bruce , Simon Parsons , Emily Leroy-Lewis , Barry Yates , Natasha Robinson , Kt bruce , Ian Rowlands , Martin Bruce , Chris Elliott , Jenny Coney , Barbara Astley-Morton .