How to appreciate the gray, rainy days

My friend Simon has been living in Thailand for about 6 years now and i asked him recently whether he missed anything at all about the UK. I was expecting him to say maybe 'fish and chips' or 'a good pint of ale' but the answer came swiftly and was completely unexpected.

"I miss the gray misty days," he said without hesitation.

"Are you crazy?! Most of us spend all our spare time dreaming of warm sunny days and long summer nights. You've got it every day!" was my response. I was so jealous of his lifestyle that it seemed almost ungrateful to miss the miserable gray days!

"I don't know, there's something comforting about a rainy day," he explained. "When you wrap up warm against the weather or settle down inside with a good book. Grey, misty, rainy days are so English and we never get them here in Thailand. I miss them."

Of course Simon's right. Apart from the fact that we appreciate fine weather more because of all the rainy days in between, our climate contributes to what makes us English. We all like to complain about the weather when it doesn't do what we want it to, but if we didn't have the gray days we wouldn't have the lush greenery that covers our island. We would miss the air of mystery when a fog descends on the moors or the pleasure of drying out by a warm fire after a rainy walk on the beach.

I took these pictures between Stithians Lake and Redruth. With the old tin mines peering through the gloom it could be a scene from Wuthering Heights; moody and secretive.

I guess i can appreciate the rainy days too. When i'd forgotten about trying to keep my feet dry, the rain-blurred landscape was really quite beautiful and i understood what Simon was missing and realised that i would miss it too.