Our favourite topic of conversation

We spend SIX MONTHS of our lives just talking about the weather

It's a handy topic to break the ice or simply pass the time.

Now the extent of our national obsession with the weather has been made clear.

We actually spend six months of our lives discussing it, a survey has shown.

Our fixation with the elements means Britons talk about the climate almost five times a day, spending longer dissecting its ups and downs than on sport or work.

And when it comes to meeting strangers, weather is the most common way to get a conversation started.

Women are particularly fond of the subject, and spend more time talking about it than discussing men, their love lives and gossip combined.

The preoccupation has even moved into the digital age, with 500,000 weather-related 'tweets' on the Twitter social networking website daily.

Older people have three times as many conversations on the subject as teenagers - and many feel their life experience can help them predict rain or sunshine.

One in five believe they are as accurate as a professional weathermen by using old wives' tales such as cows sitting down (rain coming) or a red sky at night (clear skies next day).

Paula Llewellyn, head of marketing services at Lloyds TSB Insurance, which carried out the survey of 2,000 adults, said Britons spend an average of 49 hours a year talking about the weather - or six months over a lifetime.

'These findings prove that we really are a nation obsessed by our climate, with our unusually cold winter fuelling millions of conversations around the country,' she said.

So here's something to fill any awkward silences.

After a recent cold snap, much of the country can look forward to long periods of sunshine over the weekend, with a return to BBQ weather on Saturday.

Met Office spokesman John Hammond said temperatures could climb as high as 21c (70f) next week.


Source: Daily Mail

Comments

Marta said…
I think we're obsessed with weather too and it's not just a way to break the ice but a scapegoat to blame when people want to complain.
Graham said…
Hi Marta

I think a scapegoat can only be a person (who is made to take the blame for others).

I agree. I think the Spanish talk as much about the weather as the British do.
Lola Martin said…
Hi!

I agree too, jeje, we usually talk about weather when we don´t know really what we can say.
Graham said…
I talk about the weather with my parents most times I phone them.

My mother is able to tell me the temperature in Madrid. She checks the forecast every day!