So us Brits love moaning about our cold, wet weather... almost as much as we love moaning about it when it's hot, dry and stuffy.
In those long winter months, we dream of the days when no coat or cardigan are required. But when those days actually arrive we are, all of us, moan-moan-moan....
We mustn't apologise for this though. It's our duty to discuss the weather, and be displeased with it, whatever it happens to do (be sunny in summer – WHY?!).
In spite of the fact we often have to deal with sudden weather extremes, we're actually not very good at handling them. When a heatwave unexpectedly hits during a working week, we find life especially difficult to manage – not least that morning commute.
Here are some things we find happens during it...
1.) Nothing stops your morning beauty regime
You know by the time you get to work, half your make-up will have dripped down onto your shirt. But no matter – nothing gets between you and your Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser. Not even the sun.
2.) You face the ultimate British conundrum: to tea or not to tea
WE CANNOT OPERATE WITHOUT OUR CHA.
And yet, it's hot. So very hot...
You struggle through the first few sips with that sinking feeling you know you won't finish (you can't, you just can't OK?!)
The same applies to that morning latte... [WEEPS]
3.) You're on automatic angry mode
You're not normally an angry human. But a heatwave just brings out the worst.
Someone brushes passed you on the bus and it's: 'OWWWWWW'.
Someone enters into your personal space on the tube, you're like: 'HUFFFFFFF'.
Someone stands next to you at a pedestrian crossing, you're all: 'GO AWAAAAAAAAAAAY'.
(Internally, of course.)
4.) You lose your appetite
Hot bacon roll for you? Warm yoghurt with berries? Sweaty avocado on dried-out rye?
No thanks.
5.) Whatever you've chosen to wear is wrong
No matter how thin that cotton dress looked in your wardrobe, five minutes out on the pavement in the 25°C 8am sun and it's like you're dressed in a wetsuit.
You fantasise about wandering around in a bikini. By the beach. Near the sea. And... these are BAD THOUGHTS TO HAVE, YOU MUST QUASH THEM.
6.) You replace your morning Costa visit with a trip to Tesco Express
Just so you can hang out in the frozen section.
7.) You start to have telepathic conversations with fellow commuters
You know the ones we mean. You're all bunched together on the tube/bus/train and one person sighs. And then another. A third person takes out a magazine and starts frantically fanning themselves. You follow suit with your hand, catching their eye, shaking your head.
You're part of the telepathic heatwave commuter convo. And it goes like this:
Person who sighs: I'm hot
Second person who sighs: Me too.
Person who fans with magazine: I'm so hot, I just can't believe it.
You: Same here. I don't think I've ever been this hot before.
Et cetera.
8.) You start to view your office as some sort of oasis
Two words: air con.
9.) For the first time ever you daydream about working late on a Monday
Anything to put off that return journey...
READ MORE: 31 Things That Inevitably Happen On Your All-Girls Holiday