Weather forecast

To give us all a break from the drama that is my life

I thought I would write about something completely different today

As you know

I live in Ireland 

The west coast of Ireland to be a bit more precise 

I've lived in Ireland my whole life 

And there is one topic of conversation that is talked about more than anything else

More than the state of the worlds economy

More than any of the wars that are going on

More than any murders, rapes or kidnappings 

What is this subject I hear you ask?

Well 

As you might have guessed

It's the weather

We love to talk about the weather in this country

And we get great mileage out of it

It's talked about everywhere you go

With your neighbours

With shopkeepers

With people you pass when you're out for your morning walk

Oh yes 

We love to chat about the weather

Ireland is pretty well known for its weather

Especially rain

Rain is a common occurrence here

But the thing about this country is

You have to be prepared for every eventuality

It is not uncommon to have rain, wind, sunshine, hail and snow

All in the same 24 hours

So if you are heading out for the day

You really need to be prepared

And should really bring rain gear

Fleeces 

A heavy coat

And shorts and a t- shirt

Just in case

You would think that living in this country all year round

That we would be well prepared for all the weather we get

But we're not

You can always tell a tourist in this country

As they will be dressed weather appropriate

You can always spot an Irish person too

As they will be the one wearing a t-shirt in a storm

Or high heels in snow

Every so often we get extreme weather

Like bad storm

Or heavy snowfall 

You would think that we would be prepared for this

But no

Oh no

The slightest flurry of snow

And the whole country comes to a stand still

Roads are closed

Schools are shut down 

And people don't venture outside their front door

This is when preparation comes in handy

So for all you doomsday preppers  out there

Now is the time to break out your supplies

I was in my local store yesterday 

I was queueing up at the till 

There was a storm brewing outside

And there were about three people ahead of me in the line

The girl at the till had the exact same conversation with all the people before me

Girl: The weather is shocking today

Customer no 1: Oh I know it's desperate

Girl: The weather is tight today

Customer no 2: Absolutely

Girl: it's a miserable day today

Customer no 3: Absolutely

But more than talking about the weather

We Irish love to complain about the weather

We give out yards when the weather is bad

But secretly we are delighted as it gives us a great opportunity to complain

I've been to other countries

And no where I've  been do people talk about the weather as much as we do here

Why is that?

I'm not so sure

Maybe because we get such a variety of weather 

Maybe because the weather determined our day somewhat

What ever the reason

Talking about the weather is part of our culture

And when all other topics of conversation run out

The weather is always there