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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

No wonder the rest of the world laughs at us Brits moaning about the weather

106 replies

Proofinthepudding · 01/08/2023 07:13

Just seen a clip on BBC news of an Asian bride walking down a flooded aisle after a typhoon. Everyone is smiling and just getting on with it.

Yet we are moaning about a bit of rain at the moment. We really have no resilience and considering our weather is going to get more dramatic, we need to change our mindset and coping strategies.

OP posts:
InvincibleInvisibility · 01/08/2023 07:34

Which countries are laughing at Brits moaning about the weather????

Trust me the rain in the UK is not making the news in other countries 🤔

I live abroad and apart from Brexit, and royal weddings etc. The UK is rarely mentionned.

Natsku · 01/08/2023 07:35

YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake · 01/08/2023 07:22

Yep, complaining about the weather and drinking tea is what we are known for. Why shouldn't we follow our culture

I'm a Brit abroad and I've taken my culture with me - I'm drinking a cup of tea and complaining about the weather right now Grin

RaininSummer · 01/08/2023 07:36

I think we are entitled to have a bit of a moan when we rarely see the sun and it always rains on holiday. However we are lucky that our weather doesn't usually try to kill us in the UK.

DanceWithTheBigBoysAgain · 01/08/2023 07:37

Proofinthepudding · 01/08/2023 07:28

OK I'm talking about people on here cancelling holidays as the weather is making them 'anxious'. It's embarrassing.

The only people on here I've seen cancelling holidays have been talking about the Mediterranean where the heat has been actually hazardous. Not Dorset because it might be a bit cool and damp.

Pippa12 · 01/08/2023 07:38

Bollocks! I hate it! My hair is wild in the rain and I look like a tit! Me and my sister exchange daily rants about the rain!

Snow… now don’t get me bloody started about the stuff!

bellac11 · 01/08/2023 07:38

YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake · 01/08/2023 07:22

Yep, complaining about the weather and drinking tea is what we are known for. Why shouldn't we follow our culture

Other people in other countries have their quirks and peculiarities too.

Im sure OP wouldnt post a gloating thread saying 'no wonder the rest of the world laughs at the French/Italians/Costa Ricans/Egyptians for....'

Proofinthepudding · 01/08/2023 07:39

@LaDeeDa123 that's quite the mental leap to turn my post into a Brexit issue. Never occurred to me 🤔

OP posts:
SpidersAreShitheads · 01/08/2023 07:39

qabsmep · 01/08/2023 07:32

People are allowed to have feelings OP. It's okay for someone else to feel upset about something that you can just get on with. You shouldn't try to dictate people's feelings and emotions, it's not your place to do that.

Thank you @qabsmep. Exactly this.

I've got two disabled DC - we can't travel and we can't ever go away. This year has felt grey and miserable for the entire time, bar about 2 weeks in June.

I love seeing blue skies, and being able to sit outside with my book for an hour when the DC are in bed when it's a warm summer evening is one of the very few true pleasures I get to enjoy. It really lifts me up and makes me feel as if I'm away on holiday even though that's something that I can't do (but would love to).

My life isn't easy - by any stretch - but I am a happy soul in general. I'd be even happier right now if we'd get a bit more of a summer. This year has been bloody miserable. I'm allowed to express that view without being castigated because someone else is having a (far) worse time.

AgnesX · 01/08/2023 07:39

Nah, we just like a whinge. It's one of the few things we can whinge about without it being controversial and upsetting people.

Mostly.

DirtyBlonde · 01/08/2023 07:40

I think there's a difference between coping and just having a whinge (it's a trite cliche that Brits talk about the weather, rooted in truth)

Cancelling holidays? I've not seen that about British weather - rather those elsewhere in Europe which are experiencing a record-breaking heatwave and extensive wildfires.

(And I think the flooded Asian bride was a newsworthy story - because it's unusual - not because it's typical)

TheNoodlesIncident · 01/08/2023 07:43

No wonder the rest of the world laughs at us Brits moaning about the weather

The rest of the world doesn't give a shit what British people are complaining about, they've got their own issues to fret over/try to solve/moan about. I'm surprised you think the rest of the world cares about Brits' grumbles about the weather enough to laugh at us about it.

It just doesn't register, sorry.

Threenow · 01/08/2023 07:43

Roselilly36 · 01/08/2023 07:32

Brit’s not complaining about the weather, is a bit like telling them not to breathe. Weather is a national obsession and is passed down through the generations. It’s a conversation starter too. Whatever the weather too cold, too rainy, too hot. We love to talk about it, me included. 😂

Weather is a national obsession in other countries too, the UK is hardly unique, but there is a difference between discussing weather and moaning about it.

BroomHandledMouser · 01/08/2023 07:44

Wow! So you think she should be more resilient about a large fire which was very close to where her family were holidaying?

She isn’t embarrassing, you are sweetheart x

Proofinthepudding · 01/08/2023 07:44

OK il take it I'm wrong and I will accept it. But no wonder there is so much depression and anxiety around. It's all negative, negative, negative.

If its true that our summers will now be wetter and more humid then surely people need to change their mindset or they are going to be miserable 11.5 months of the year.

OP posts:
TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 01/08/2023 07:48

I hate these ‘everyone in the rest of the world mocks and despises us’ posts.
We talk about the weather a lot because it is unusually changeable here. It’s a consequence of being a little island on the edge of a land mass. If it was always el scorchio we would have nothing to say about it.
It’s a stereotype that’s rooted in truth, doesn’t mean we need to feel defensive or embarrassed about it.
BTW my Ukrainian guest is doing an advanced English course and they had a lesson on how to talk about the weather. It was explained that if someone makes a throwaway comment about the weather you have to agree with them because they are doing it just to make small talk not for a serious discussion.

Museya15 · 01/08/2023 07:53

I used to live next door o a builder when I lived on the south coast, everytine it would rain, it was down tools and home for the day. I grew up in a country where it rained nearly ever single day, if builders did that, we'd all have had no houses , nothing.

LaDeeDa123 · 01/08/2023 07:55

@Proofinthepudding it’s not really a huge leap. There are a lot of people around with that mindset. Your post had definite shades of that mentality. I feel really sorry for them in all honesty.

Cornettoninja · 01/08/2023 07:58

Proofinthepudding · 01/08/2023 07:28

OK I'm talking about people on here cancelling holidays as the weather is making them 'anxious'. It's embarrassing.

Embarrassing? Give over. Why are you embarrassed about the actions of people you don’t know and never will know. Concentrate on your own actions.

Btw the rest of the world barely gives a passing thought to the UK most days of the year. We’re just not that important and haven’t been for over a century.

I have, however, met a couple of people who’ve moved here and have commented they can see why people in the UK are so obsessed with the weather - it’s a very variable, if temperate, climate to most places in the world.

Cornettoninja · 01/08/2023 08:01

OK il take it I'm wrong and I will accept it. But no wonder there is so much depression and anxiety around. It's all negative, negative, negative

hmmm, yes. Maybe talking people down and calling them embarrassing is part of the problem, what do you think? You’re not exactly bringing positivity to the conversation are you?

BatsHaveButtcheeks · 01/08/2023 08:02

For every weather moaner, there's someone like me, who's actually pleased it's not the ridiculous temperatures of the last few years, and I don't mind the rain.

BitOutOfPractice · 01/08/2023 08:02

Have you got to stop minding about people loaning about the weather as well because you’ve been the only negative person on here op.

it’s what brits do. It saves us talking about our real feelings about big things.

tracylamont13 · 01/08/2023 08:02

I enjoy my job but it's weather dependent. I moan about it insofar as we lose money if it's days or weeks of rain or snow. I'm very resilient to going out in all weathers but it's trickier if the weather is "bad". Yesterday, for example, we lost £90 as a business because we couldn't do a job in heavy rain. Today we're out for 12 hours to try and preempt the heavy rain forecast tomorrow, so doing some jobs in advance. It's not moaning for the sake of it but simply a reflection of its being trickier when it's on off rain. So, yeah, I have the odd little moan.

BitOutOfPractice · 01/08/2023 08:03

Have you got to stop moaning about people moaning about the weather as well because you’ve been the only negative person on here op.

it’s what brits do. It saves us talking about our real feelings about big things.

itsmylife7 · 01/08/2023 08:03

Natsku · 01/08/2023 07:19

Complaining about the weather is a national pastime though

it's true 😂

LolaSmiles · 01/08/2023 08:08

It's not common to have rain the way we have for most of July. That's probably why it's more of a topic of conversation. If it rained for ages in November it's unlikely to be that much of a talking point.

Equally we have temperatures that are generally mid teens to mid 20s, so that's what our country is made to cater for. Unsurprisingly when the temperature gets up to 28+ people find it hot.

We have snow, but not as much snow as Canada, so whilst we're set up for small amounts of snow, unless you're a rural or high lying area most places aren't set up for larger amounts.

Plus brits love weather conversation

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