Rain Rain Go Away

When I was but a wee bairn I used to have a picture book. The little boy featured in the book was called Charlie and the only other thing I can remember about it is a picture of Charlie looking out of the window with a sad face watching the teeming rain. He was bored and wished he could go outside. Today is just such a day.

There are many things to commend the rain, it's good for filling reservoirs and making plants grow, it's particularly efficient at washing man-made pollutants out of the air and putting them in the ground. Where would those big, green garden water-butts be without the rain to fill them. There's a time and place for everything but mid-morning on a Saturday is definitely not the time for rain.

There are many quotes and sayings relating to rain along the lines of those motivational posters you see. There are people who suggest that 'those who have never danced and sang in the rain have never lived.' That may be true but you can only do it for 10 minutes before people start asking questions and the police are called. Another one is 'be grateful for the rain because it brings rainbows', however you can't see the rainbows because your hood is up and you are trying not to get rain in your eyes. Anyway, they look just as pretty from inside a car. I'm sure there are many hardy souls who don their rain gear and rush out to tramp through the countryside regardless of the weather, but, given the choice between rain and no rain, I would guess most of them would vote for no rain. 

They say that nothing in life is free and this even extends to precipitation. Instead of going down the park to kick a ball about or walking along the canal you end up indulging in pocket bruising activities such as the pub, bowling or the cinema or, in the worst case scenario, DIY. You can always stay in and watch TV or a DVD but Saturday mornings is bit early for such things in my book, however, a rainy Sunday afternoon is a different matter entirely.

I intend to write a strongly worded letter to my MP regarding the continued anti social behaviour of rain and suggest liberal precipitation should only be allowed between the hours of midnight to 5:00 AM. Light showers may be permitted during the day up to a maximum of 2mm and 10 minutes duration just to annoy those people who hang about in public places drinking. I don't expect anything shall come of it though; those coalition governments can't agree on anything. On the other hand, heavy rain is quite handy for blog writing.