And here I was thinking only England was longed for in April as Robert Browning put it:
Oh, to be in England Now that April's there And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware, That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf, While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough In England - now.
Actually May is the sunniest month and a surprising fact is that London, where I am from, has fewer rainy days (106-107) than Miami or Orlando with 135 and 117 respectively.
Perhaps, but in terms of sunshine England fares poorly. Nerd that I am, I looked up hours of sunshine per year. London gets 1,633 and Miami gets 3,154.
About 68 days of sunshine for London. Pretty good for a city farther north than say Montreal or Toronto and certainly better than the 7 days that started this conversation. Britain as a whole is termed a moderate climate thanks to its position in the Gulf Stream and I would prefer its rainy, cool days over the blizzard snows and frigid cold of many cities that have hotter summers. Rain is much easier to shovel.
"Seven days" of sunshine was meant in jest, of course. But London is a dark city, darker than Helsinki, Olso, Stockholm and Gothenberg--cities in which the sun does not rise for months each year, which makes them quite gloomy.
You are correct about the Gulf Stream, so if one prefers rain to snow England is a good option. For those who like sunshine, however, even Tallinn, St. Petersburg, or Riga would offer a more pleasant clime.
Actually, Kentish, I do know what you mean. We're slightly south of the southest of England here (I think - but may be wrong ;-) so things were always a few days ahead in terms of Spring springing, but with climate change, Spring is much more advanced than it used to be - here in France, as in the UK, I think.
And, sadly, the elms disappeared years ago, both in England and France...
Tom in Paris where the temperature has been in the 79 - 80°C over the last 3 days :-)
The world is falling apart, whether you notice it or not. The answer is nationalism, the separation of countries from their interlocutors and the expulsion of all foreigners, especially those with dark complexions.
Didn't you learn anything from World War One and World War Two?
Oh, now you are going to get in trouble. It's okay to tout conspiracy stories about how Moslems are ruining the world, about how you in France are too benighted to see the descending ruin around you. But don't you dare criticize Americans' love affair with gun-based bloodshed.