Boy, you guys (blokes) along the south coast of England are really
trying to ensure that your reputation for rain and overcast skies is
more than a stereotype :-)

Well, to be honest Bob it is winter and it has been cloudier and a bit
wetter than normal (average Jan rainfall is 83 mm for here). January 2007
brought a more normal 64 hours of bright sunshine but this month has been
very dull indeed.

The rainfall for the here is concentrated in the winter months and the late
spring and summers are often fairly dry with long spells where no rain falls
at all (last July being an exception), the driest months of the year being
June, July & August. There is a rainfall deficit in most summers and hence,
the grass turns brown! But this has its advantages as it stops growing
bringing an end to the incessant mowings of spring.

I've spent some time in Lisbon, Portugal and their winters can bring a whole
new meaning to rainfall, especially in January when everything is soaked and
it can rain torrentially for days on end causing all the manhole covers to
lift and roads to flood throughout the city. Our rain in comparison is
nothing more than a spot of drizzle. Ironically, the Portuguese still think
it doesn't rain much in their country and it rains all the time here (much
to their constant amusement). When I tell them that Lisbon gets over twice
the annual rainfall of many of the drier parts of South East of England they
don't believe me. And everytime is starts raining in Portugal the locals say
it must make me feel at home.
________________
Nick G
Otter Valley, Devon
83 m amsl
http://www.ottervalley.co.uk