England summer = England winter

Let's see. The last time I came to England was December 2007. It was rainy, cold, windy and gross then. Now I'm here in England again, August 2008. And it is rainy, cold, windy and gross. I always think that maybe it would be really fun to live in England, with all the history and the rugby culture and London and the proximity to Europe, etc. etc. etc. But then I get here and I think, has there ever been a clear day here? With no clouds at all? How do the people survive the winters? The summers???

I've been getting happiness in taking small pleasures such as eating wild blackberries on our 20 minute walks to the practice pitches, having dessert for lunch and dinner (because I deserve it), finding about 40 pence on the ground, eating chocolate Digestives like it is my job, and hoping against all hopes that I don't contract some skin disease from the cloudy filthy pool we've been doing our recovery workouts in. I feel like I'm at Camp Grenada...

But then there's the rugby clubs. We are playing at Esher Park somewhere west of downtown London and it is so cool to be able to play in a real stadium (even though it isn't too big) at a place that has a club house with a bar and a banquet room and locker rooms with showers and about 6 practice pitches all with posts and lights on the practice field.

And then there's London. We had an afternoon off to do whatever we want and a bunch of us took a double decker tour of the city. What a cool place! And EXPENSIVE! In one of the areas we went through, houses cost up to £30 million! That's more than $60 million!!!! But the history is amazing and the architecture is fascinating and the pubs are cool. And then I think....maybe I could live here, if I bought myself a UV lamp and took lots of vitamin D!