Most people believe we Irish are obsessed by drink.
A nation who party and sing.
Who know how to enjoy the craic.
Well to a large extent you are correct.
However that is not our real obsession.
Nor is Religion, or Fighting.
No, as a nation we talk 24/7 about the weather.
I phone my mum and she has to know,
“what’s your weather like today?”
Equally she has to tell me in great detail,
what the weather is like with her in Dublin.
If it is raining we compete to have the most rain.
“Its raining here since yesterday morning” I will say.
My mum will add, “Well it started here last night,
but it has been torrential since”.
If you happen to come to Ireland,
and you pass anyone, whether you know them or not,
it is completely acceptable and indeed normal,
to comment on the weather.
“Hi there how’s things. dreadful weather isn’t it?”.
or “lovely bit of sunshine”,
or “we’ll need an ark if this keeps up”
(This last one is said often,
and those who say it expect you to laugh at their wit!)
You are not expected to hang around for a reply.
It is just the done thing to mention the weather,
as often as possible every day,
to anyone and everyone.
The other thing to note if you did visit our shores,
is that even if it is nice weather,
everyone is waiting for it to change.
“Isn’t it lovely, but it’s to be raining later”.
Or “Enjoy it now because I believe the weekend is to be dreadful”.
We often enjoy four seasons in an hour,
and rarely can we make plans if they include the outdoors.
Parents learn early not to promise a trip to the woods,
or the beach or a picnic outdoors,
because it is all too likely that it will be cancelled due to bad weather.
However we are despite all that,
an eternally optimistic nation.
Despite many years of disappointment,
every summer we wonder,
“Will this be a good one?”
Then once in awhile it happens.
The sun shines and the forecast says,
“warm and dry all week”.
In fact this past week they have told us,
that a high pressure is “locked in” over the country.
We never heard the likes before,
“locked in!”.
The result is the warmest Summer in a long time.
Yesterday was the hottest day for seven years.
We are all losing our classic Irish pasty look,
and the numbers sporting “farmers tan” are dwindling.
Beaches are packed and barbecues dusted off.
We are having a real Summer at last.
So what can we say now that we have the weather we dreamed of?
We say “Oh my God this weather is dreadful, the heat is killing me”.
photo credit: lleugh via photopin cc
photo credit: Wootang01 via Baptiste Pons via photopin
photo credit: Baptiste Pons via photopin cc
My thoughts on a page. 
How is the weather in Cork today?
“Roasting, too hot entirely!”. 🙂
Pffft, so what is it like 22 degrees Celsius?
26 actually and yesterday was 29! I am dying. Me and that one lying in a heap on my post page have a lot in common!
Lol. And you’re welcome for converting to degrees Celsius! I had no idea how hot 22 of them were! Good luck with the sun, try not to burn too badly.
Thanks Google! I was so chuffed you converted I thought to myself “ah Don lives where they have Celsius too” but I was wrong. 29 is 84F or boiling point (almost)
I am a golden brown now and look mediterranean. However one of my children and my husband are still pale as death. Don’t think there will ever be sun strong enough to brown them!
Lol. That’s how Cools skin is. Poor pasty white child is like his mother. It’s about 100° with the humidity here in the Lou.
Remind me when I am famous to only visit you in Winter unless you have air conditioning and lots of wine, which I imagine you could arrange. 🙂
Sounds like my skin too. I once went tanning every day for a month in preparation for a trip to Costa Rica. The day before I left, my best friend saw me and said, “So you decided not to go tanning, huh?” Typical Seattle girl skin….
Ha ha. That is like my husband. When he comes home from holidays people who meet him ask when is he going?
Too right. I think it’s widespread – I heard a local complaining it was too hot here yesterday. Imagine blue sky, cicadas singing, kids playing in the shade…. and she’ complaining. I asked her if she’s complained it was raining last week. She had. She shut up. 🙂
I must admit I am a bit like her! Well I don’t complain loudly but I do hibernate in the house. Everywhere does look fab though and mostly people are in great form. 🙂
Love it. In many ways, my family never left the motherland! You craic’d that one right on the head! Well done.
Thank you. Maybe it is an obsession in other parts of the world too? 🙂
Hilarious and exactly what I’m dealing with during this ‘long winter’ down under )
Funny to hear it is the same the world over. Hope you’re still enjoying the “winter”.
Does that mean discussing the weather with a beer in your hand is something akin to nirvana?
You got it if you change the beer to wine!
Ha ha “four seasons in one hour”. I live in the Midwest and we experience that weather phenomenon quite often too 🙂
In Ireland we assume the whole world has better weather than we do. It is always interesting to hear we are not alone. 🙂
How will we ever recognise the Irish if you lose your pasty complexions?
There are other traits which cannot be hidden so easily! 🙂
How is the weather there today? I haven’t spoken to my cousins over there since last week and we always discuss the weather! Course for them it is always rain rain rain…and I am like “I am in Texas….it’s 104 F today and we need rain badly!” 🙂 Great post and oh so true!
Weather is roasting again today in the 80s ( I hear you laughing). I have discovered though how to survive it…. Stay indoors. My youngest and her pals were in a paddling pool for hours.
Well it’s….106 F here…with high humidity, not a breeze to write home about…so yeah totally laughing! I just got a pool this summer so my pasty Irish arse will be under a umbrella, covered in sunblock, floating in my nice cool pool by this evening! 🙂
I would have to emigrate back to the old country!
LOL you get used to it, I was raised in Pennsylvania where it rains almost every day so best place for an irish family. Fell in love with a guy in Texas…yeah I have been covered in sunblock every since!
Oh and being from an Irish family…even in Texas I don’t tan…nope I BURN! So me and my 100SPF sunblock sit under a lot of umbrellas at the beach!
You, my husband and one of my kids could keep each other company.:)
🙂 I have lots of beach umbrellas and sunblock! Come on over….oh never mind I would rather come there…of course then my family would show up and god knows that’s a crew for ya!
Dear God may your crew and my crew never meet. My husbands family are much quieter though.
Yes my crew is anything but quiet! But they are fun and lovable, but they play havoc on a pantry and alcohol cabinet!
My family are so mad that I used to think that my kids should stay away and any gathering be considered an over 18 event! I never did that and my kids have survived and enjoy the madness. They are definitely not boring!:)
Haha, it’s hilarious how much similarity there is between Ireland and Seattle!
And we think we are the only ones!
This post definitely made me laugh.
🙂 Thanks again for stopping by.
Sure. This is the first blog I’ve followed because I like your style.
🙂 That’s nice to know. Thank you.