And yes, Alan: I had forgotten about those 2 nice weeks in June, but even
so I
still stand by what I said: this has been the most depressing year of
weather I
can ever remember! Also bear in mind that here on the Chilterns the mean
temperature is nearly always at least 3-4C lower than the surrounding
area.
Yesterday for instance, the maximum here was just 4.5C - and not a
moment's
sunshine either!

I know about the Chilterns effect as I lived in Chesham at 150m for a few
years in the 1970s and on the few occasions we had snow it was much deeper
than in St Albans where I was working.

The maximum temperature here was only 5.6°C so it was not much warmer here
although the sun did come out for a while.

Alan