I've just come back from the shop and as strange as it might sound, I am pleased to say it is chilly, but overcast outside, not cold, but there are a lot of puddles out there. Over the last few weeks I've had to wrap up warm as the weather has been BALTIC, BRASS MONKEYS, FREEZING and whatever you want to call cold weather, so this is why I'm actually pleased it's now just chilly. Yesterday, I think it was the change. Although it was cold, there was a clear blue sky and sunshine.
I have spent the last 8 years in different kinds of winters in Eastern Europe, so I've become accustomed to severe weather. In that time I've seen rivers frozen over, only a few hours of daylight, seen streets covered in sludge as the snow and ice starts to melt, and of course, walking like a robot because I'm afraid I might fall over because of the icy and slippery pavements – and yes, I slipped over on the ice a few weeks ago for the first time in a long time. Hello Baboon
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My favourite season is Summer. I don't think you can better the sunshine on your face with a nice light breeze every now and then to keep you cool. I always welcome a heatwave. But, it's not uncommon to meet people who aren't fans of the sunshine. These people usually turn the same colour as a lobster because of their pale skin and then usually get sunburnt rather than a suntan. Some people actually do like rain. When it's spitting, OK, but when it's pouring it down / pissing it down, no thank you. You get drenched, your clothes get soaked, and it's very uncomfortable sitting in wet clothes. But, I have had Arabic students in my class in England - it doesn't rain all the time - who loved being outside in the rain. They loved walking outside when it was bucketing it down and blowing a gale with the wind crashing against their face. Why? Because they never get this kind of weather. It's always like a sauna / boiling and when there is a gale in their country it blows sand, not rain. And I'd rather a blizzard than a sandstorm
Sure, lots of our favourite weather can be great and it can no doubt boost our mood, but it can also cause a lot of problems. Too much rain and we have flooding. No rain and too much warm weather, and we have drought. Too much sunshine and we can have forest fires, and thick fog can be very dangerous for drivers. And if you have a pet, we all know cats and dogs don't react well to thunder and lighting.
So, let's hope this is good-bye to winter and hello to spring, and to say good-bye, here is a video of people slipping and slipping over on the ice....
https://www.facebook.com/ShortListMagazine/videos/10155362403028947/
Now I must get back to work, I'm snowed under....
Cheers
www.luke.lv - English native speaker in Lviv
Skype lessons and Zoom classes with a native speaker from England
Questions
Have you slipped over this year?
Do you get a suntan or sunburn when you're in the sunshine?
Would you welcome a heatwave tomorrow?
What clothes do you put on to wrap up warm?
Does the weather boost your mood?
Have you ever driven in thick fog?
Key
Chilly – a little less than 'cold'
Overcast - grey and cloudy
Puddles - pools of water caused my rain or ice
Warm up warm – to wear layers of warm clothes
Baltic / Brass Monkeys / Freezing – very cold weather
Clear (blue) sky - a sky with no clouds.
Accustomed to – something you are 'used to'
Severe weather - uncomfortable weather conditions, unusual
Frozen over – when water turns to ice
Daylight – the amount of light we get in a day
Sludge – a mixture of water, snow, and ice.
Melt – when ice turns to water
Icy – to describe something that has ice on
Slippery – to describe an area that is easy to fall on
Slip over – to fall over on something 'slippery'
Breeze – a small wind
Heatwave – an expected long-spell of sunshine
Uncommon – It doesn't happen often
Pale skin – light coloured skin
Sunburn – when the sun burns your skin and goes red and painful
Suntan – when your skin turns brown because of the sun. To be tanned
Spitting – a very light rain
Pouring it down / pissing it down / bucketing it down – heavy rainfall
Soaked / drenched – very wet
Blowing a gale – a very strong wind
Boiling / like a sauna – very hot weather
Blizzard - a snowstorm with wind
Sandstorm - a heavy wind blowing lots of sand
Boost – improve
Flooding – the disaster of too much rain
Draught – the disaster of sunshine and no rain
Forest fires – fires started by the sun
Fog – cloud close to the ground that makes it hard to see
Thunder and lightning– the sound, and the light from a storm
Slipping - to lose your balance
To be snowed under – an idiom for someone who has a lot of work