h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I arrived back from a brilliant week in Cyprus yesterday. Did all the touristy stuff - rented a car and visited some ruins - some of the Roman mosaics are stunning! And the Sanctuary of Apollo, the Tombs of the Kings - wonderful.

It's really quite difficult to sample the local food and drink in the towns, though - everybody is trying to cater to the British tourist. That doesn't float my boat at all - if I want British food and drink I can get it anytime I want at home - when I'm away I want to experience the country I'm visiting.

Which means driving off into the country and practising my non-existent Greek. I can manage hello, goodbye, please and thankyou, although it's amazing how far that will get you.

The last day was blighted by the awful news from the US - we were out on a 'safari' with a Cypriot driver in a Land Rover - we simply couldn't believe what he was telling us, and it was only when we got back to the hotel where we had BBC World that we began to understand what had happened. Although I don't think I ever will understand it.

So, now we're back in Manchester, and it's chucking it down with rain. Never mind, it will soon be Christmas.

hellooo, welcome back glad to hear you had a good time. yeah, the whole america thing has been a really surreal experience. i watched the whole thing live on tv, watched the second tower collapse right in front of my eyes, was chilling to say the least.
but on a lighter note, good to have you back

(by the way, mel the proud is/was FF)

It's always raining in Manchester.

It's not actually raining this minute, but it generally does. I spent a week in the Med, and I felt I was acclimatising (spelling?) quite well. I've lived 40 years in Manchester and I'm still not used to it.

Perhaps if I wasn't permanently damp I'd remember my manners - hi, Mina!

I may not have manners, but I do have a large, broad-brimmed hat (actually, I have a selection of large hats, they keep the rain off), which I have been known to doff.

If you should ever be in Mancheser and spot a bloke with a large hat and a kebab, it may well be me.

Hats are .
I try to avoid Manchester these days, my ex's ex lived there with their son, so I had to keep travelling up with him for the day so he could see him.
The December he split up with me the first thought that went through my head was 'at least I haven't got to spend Boxing Day travelling up to bleeding Manchester!'. Then I got upset, but you understand.
The amount of times we'd leave Essex and it was warm and sunny, and get to Manchester and it was cold and wet is unbelievable.

Mrs Kebab's sister and her husband live in London, and he makes the same complaint. I normally find that when we travel down there the weather is far better.

The groundskeeper at Old Trafford cricket ground was quoted in the spring as saying that we had not had 2 consecutive dry days in Manchester for 8 months. Nuff said.

Any particular reason why it's so rainy there?

I thought it was rubbish when I was told it always rains in Manchester, but my experience, and now that proves it's true.

If you look at the rainfall totals Manchester is not the wettest place in Britain - the Lake District is wetter (but they have the scenery), but I think it's probably the wettest urban area, and of course, further afield in Snowdonia and the Western Highlands of Scotland they get soaked.

My understanding of the reason is this: the prevailing weather comes predominantly from the west, with Atlantic weather systems sweeping in over Ireland. To the east of Manchester are the Pennines, which act as a watershed. As the damp air rises over the Pennines, it gets colder and the rain precipitates out. That's as scientific as I get without recourse to a book. I presume it is the result of colder air having a lower saturation point. I'm not totally clear on the detail here (that's probably obvious ) but the Pennines are definitely the guilty party here.

The end result is that to the west of the hills it's always bloody damp, which apparently is good for making cotton. To the east of the Pennines they get noticeably drier but colder weather, as most of the moisture has precipitated out already. That's confirmed by friends who studied in Leeds and Hull, and another friend who lives in Huddersfield.

I think you can see a similar mechanism in operation in Scotland - places like Fort William and Oban in the west are infamously soggy, but to the east of the hills in Inverness and Aberdeenshire they enjoy reasonably clement weather. If any Scots come across this perhaps they might confirm.

I have to admit that it doesn't rain heavily here all the time, so we don't get huge rainfall totals, but it always seems to be drizzling. I am assured that this is good for the garden.

Blimey, sounds complicated. I wish I'd done Geography at school!

Rain is good for the garden, and for people on water meters.
Doesn't help when you want to sunbathe in the garden though.