Yesterday and today have been miserable, but certainly the week prior to that was great here in the west. Cold, but clear blue skies. Days like today give me a much needed chance to catch up with some of the hundred and hundreds of photos I have taken lately, they all need to be processed and burnt onto DVD, so that's what's keeping me occupied. Sadly, don't think the rest of the weeks looks good for you either though!

Why don´t you post a few pictures for us to see, is that your job, photographer?

I think at this point in what's been identified correctly as a particularly lacklustre day, I'll test the ignore button!








(or not - inquisitive after all being my one of my middle names, appearing after pedant and, of course, before, procrastinator)

Where are you in the UK? From a lot of your weather posts, it almost sounds like an alternative reality to mine.

This week here in the UK is continuing in what I remember as the traditional British style. Grey, cold and wet, - not raining much, just a little bit here and there to keep everything moist and slimey. So far I haven't had a glimpse of sunshine.

Today at my spot in the N.E. this is the first really dismal day I've seen all Winter.
Yes, there was a fair bit of snow and low temperatures for a while, but generally it's stayed fairly bright with little or no wind, which makes quite a difference, and all in all a pleasure to be out and about most days.

I'm probably making it all up, like this 10 day look ahead.
http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Pembroke-SA71
I have may hundreds of photos taken in the last few months that bear testament to dozens of clear blue days.
Edit Drive down this way now, Bil, it´s now wall to wall sunshine!

Ditto here, this week has not been good, but it's dry, sun breaking through, and the week ahead looks OK. Cold, but that never worries me, unlike the wife. I was out on Sunday, miles of sandy beach, all to myself, not a soul in sight, my only company, a pair of choughs that posed for me. I love it! Not suggesting it's great everyday, but for most of the time, it suits me perfectly. Reading in this and other forums of people freezing in Spain, moaning of damp etc, I'm happy to spend the winter here, and despite the coldest December in 100 years, I have never been cold in the house.

One for Bil, taken an hour ago, as he's never seen the sun in UK!

Never said that.

I've lived in the UK for more than 55 years, and ever since the 70s when I started to pay attention to the weather, where I was near Cambridge, it has always been very lacklustre. There have been exceptions like 76, but in the last 5 summers before we left, I only recorded 15 days in total where the sun was continuous all day.

All the time people would say that the weather was great that day, but I would know damn well that there had been less than an hour's sunshine.

I had records for the ten years or so I was keeping koi, and they all showed a less than thrilling climate.

It's not everyone that enjoys constant blazing sunshine all day every day, especially in the excessive heat of a Spanish mid-summer.
Having lived in it non stop for quite a few years myself, I eventually came to appreciate the variations in the weather, and in fact generally now prefer the shade for most of the daytime when the Sun is out.
Also much easier to work,(sorry about that nasty four letter word),and generally get out and about in a much more active way.
I personally have now come to enjoy the variety of all four seasons, with the possible exception of long spells of rain and fog.
However as previous posters have mentioned it has not really been like that this Winter, and certainly not at my place which normally gets the worst of it.
Today is easily the most dismal I have seen, but even then it is comparatively mild with breaks to be able to get out and about.

On the other hand, if I had to go back to the times when I used to be digging sheep out of six foot snow drifts in blizzard conditions on a fairly regular basis, I might just have second thoughts.

For me, having lived for so long in the grey, I have come to appreciate sunshine.

Like you, I love the seasons, all for different reasons, and perhaps I'm a bit of a masochist, but this time of the year I love being on an empty beach, or cliff path with a howling wind, warm coat on, on a chilly winter's day like we've had lately. From what I've seen of friends and aquaintances in Spain, few seem to take advantage of the weather in Spain, few seem to get out travelling around the country, most seem hidden somewhere in the shade, trying to avoid the sun. Or trying to cool down in air conditioned houses, cars, restaurants, shopping centers etc. I've done several years in the Middle East, with sun all day, every day, and for me it's the most boring climate going. Hate to say it Bil, but it's blue skies here again this morning, soon be time to put the walking boots on!

The Spanish seasons are fine by me. Not being a masochist, I don't enjoy exposing myself to the cold and wet. I don't see any pleasure in that.

Unlike your friends in Spain, even in the full heat of summer, I enjoy being outside and working in the garden. It's nice to go back to eating outdoors and even the dogs enjoy sunbathing.

Wet? Did I mention that, can't see it anywhere. I draw the line at that, can't see any pleasure in that either. Wow, working in the garden! You want to get out more. I've seen so much more of Andalucia than my friend that has lived there for 8 years.

Well, I think that when you live in a country you tend to take it for granted.

One thing I do like about Spain is the dryness. In the UK for most of the year there would be moisture and slime all over. I used to see alga growing on lampposts for example.

I used to grow a lot of geraniums in the UK, and every day I had to go out and remove all the petals that had fallen and were stuck to the leaves with the ambient moisture. If I didn't, the petal would rot there and the rot would spread to the leaf, and to the plant if I didn't remove the leaf.

I haven't ever had that problem in Spain.