"Turned out nice again!" Or not. Who in England doesn't love discussing the weather? "Lot of rain lately," we advise our neighbour at the bus-stop, as though they hadn't noticed. We are still living up to Dr Johnson's observation in the 18th century that "when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather". Of course it is, because it's always doing something new and unexpected.

Not quite as unexpected as pelting us with green hailstones or showering us with fish, but those strange events have been known too. And even though we have the TV weather forecast to consult, even that doesn't totally remove the element of surprise, as devotees of the now retired Michael Fish will know...