For three weeks in May I was in England - twelve thousand miles away on the opposite side of the world. Leaving a climate with decreasing daylight and temperatures we arrived to see people walking about outside in shorts eating ice creams at 9.30pm in daylight. Even though the English start to celebrate when they actually see some sunlight cast on the ground and throw all their clothes off when the mercury hits 15 degrees the difference was marked.
The other main difference was the profusion of growth. The soil is more fertile than southern Australia and the growing season short so the plants go crazy. The constant drizzle that clouds the days was surprisingly absent while we were visiting but the rainfall before and after was sufficient to give the plants enough to boom. The trees had just come out in full leaf (except for the tardy ash trees) and there were flowers everywhere. If, like two of my daughters, this was the only time you visited England you would be forgiven for thinking that it was a very pleasant and abundant place. We saw it at its best.
Returning to a Snowy Mountains winter was quite a shock. However it didn't take long to get used to it and enjoy the sunshine in the middle of the day that was still not much colder than all but the warmest that England had to offer.
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