Talk about the weather

(Lerwick Harbour - Summer 2009)

The weather forecast is on in the background, promising another hot and sunny day for the UK. Here in Ireland it is disappointingly dull by comparison. The weather is such a key factor in our daily lives. For me it is the first thing I notice when I look out of the window in the morning. I pay attention to the BBC weather forecast and look at weather online, and the only reason I had originally signed up for Twitter was to follow Dawadderman (Dave Wheeler, the Fair Isle Weather Guru).

I wonder whether my obsession with the weather is unusual, but I don’t think it is. We love to talk about the weather. It is the best conversational opening gambit or greeting, and an even better source of observational humour, to be shared with anyone from family to complete strangers. The weather, strangely enough, is one of the things I miss most about Shetland. The expression “four seasons in one day” was particularly apt for the Northern Isles. The weather was a constant source of amusement, exasperation, horror and, more often than some would expect, pleasure.

There was nothing more pleasurable than waking up in Shetland and hearing silence outside. Silence, with the exception of the noise produced by the large bird population, meant that there was no wind, and no wind meant it was a fine day. When I first moved to Shetland I used to be surprised when my new friends and neighbours would talk about what a fine day it was, when it was often rather dull. I soon learned to appreciate those fine days though. The alternative was often a wild gale and horizontal rain. But even on those foul days, we would laugh and joke about the “course weather” and there was a whole new vocabulary to learn about how to describe the day. I remember being both delighted and horrified in equal measure when I heard one very respectable elderly lady describe a storm as a “day of shite” and a “Godless whore of a day”. As a budding writer, I stored away those wonderful descriptions for future use, along with all the elements of potential drama and romance that the storms or the Northern Lights could create for me.


(Oscar Charlie on a training exercise in bad weather)

But don’t take away the impression from reading this that the weather in Shetland was often “shite.” There were so many days of glittering sunshine throughout the year, through all of the seasons, “all two of them”. Those days would make your heart sing and force you out of the house to take advantage of the fabulous day, never knowing how long it would last. An hour, a morning, a whole day, or just occasionally it would last a few weeks. I will never forget the summer of 2003 and 2009 for the seemingly endless days of sunshine that reminded me of my childhood, when I am sure it never rained then either. On a beautiful day you were inspired to go walking along the beach or around the loch at the back of the house, take the ferry across to the mainland and sit out on deck and feel as if you were on a mini-cruise. A sunny day put a smile on everyone’s face and brought out even more of the humour and joie de vivre that Shetlanders have in abundance.


(Sun and snow - the perfect combination)

People still talk about the weather here in Ireland, but with less passion and less humour. There are less extreme weather days and therefore the subject is a little more mundane. The disappointingly dull day that is happening outside my window would be considered a great day in Shetland. The temperature is 19 degrees, the windy is blowing sufficiently well to make it a “fine drying day” and there is no rain on the horizon. I am so glad I had my time in Shetland to make me appreciate a fine day for what it is, and for the colourful increase in my vocabulary.