Comment from Stuart
Time: June 10, 2008, 7:46 pm

The saying might be completely accurate. Tomorrow is when you can start complaining.

Comment from Frank
Time: June 10, 2008, 7:53 pm

For once we are in the right place, it’s been glorious here! We spent the weekend in Weymouth (definitely not my normal choice of place!) to spend the weekend with, and photograph, my son who was taking part in a triathlon event. Marvellous weather for the beach, but not great for swimming, cycling 56 miles, and running 13 miles! I was knackered just watching them!

Comment from Graeme
Time: June 10, 2008, 8:32 pm

Although I wouldn’t mind a bit of sun occasionally I quite like the fact that summer hasn’t started in the middle of May this year. At least this way we only get 2-3 months of extreme temperatures - when the heat begins too early life gets quite tough by August.

Comment from Edith
Time: June 10, 2008, 8:45 pm

Seems like the tables have been turned for once! * heh * (Sorry Ben)

Comment from faemino
Time: June 10, 2008, 9:58 pm

Joer Ben, ¡que tio, como te gusta la polémica y los estereotipos!

Global warming, Ben? Why do you think we have that saying here in Castille? WTF?

So this is the first time you are not wearing anything but a T-shirt in Spain the 40th of May? Interesting..you surely mean in Madrid, you know, I’m from the north of Castille and I have to wear a jacket even in August, but hey, who cares, if we don’t fit into the stereotype, then we can’t be Spain. I’m starting to believe Africa begins in Madrid.

Ben c’mon, I’ve been to England on vacation or visiting many summers and it’s not unusual at all that at least southern England gets better weather than most of Spain. If you stay away from the Mediterranean, that is.

Anyway, I’m with Graeme on this, I have to say I’m more than happy with this kind of weather. I wish it stayed like this until October, although I know I won’t be that lucky. I hate the heat with a passion.

Eres un escritor de talento y una fuente inagotable de buenas ideas Ben, esto lo digo sin ninguna ironia, pero veo que llevas una “linea editorial” un poco polémica y no nos tratas muy bien, aunque si te soy sincero, me encanta leer tu blog para “ver que dicen estos guiris” y enfadarme un poco.

Comment from richardksa
Time: June 10, 2008, 11:07 pm

Oh come on, there was a good three quarters of an hour this afternoon that was sunny. Of course, it happened after we had ducked into a bar to get out of the wet. And as soon as we came out, it started to rain again!!
But we did sit outside Casa Mingo, under an awning, and have lunch. Good as usual.

Comment from Katie
Time: June 10, 2008, 11:54 pm

Strange, indeed. The East Coast of the US, meanwhile, is already baking in 35-degree heat. If it isn’t the earth telling us to wise up, what is it?!

Comment from Ray
Time: June 11, 2008, 1:57 am

There’s been a longer than usual lack of sunspots, as well.

Comment from Ben
Time: June 11, 2008, 9:20 am

@faemino - “me encanta leer tu blog para “ver que dicen estos guiris” y enfadarme un poco.” Se nota, tio

@Graeme - Agree I suppose, reluctantly!

@Edith - Fair enough, you deserve the good weather for once!

Comment from Parubin
Time: June 11, 2008, 10:24 am

In the Canaries we don’t see any weather changing. It’s always the same mild and warm no matter what.

Nonetheless while mainland Spain has had the coolest and wettest spring in years I’ve been able to enjoy last weekend the sunny terraces all-blue sky and cold beer in Stockholm, Sweden (at night it got a bit chilly for my likes, though).

Even rainy and foggy London provided suberb weather the first week of may, while most of Spain was under terrible weather, I was able to stroll at night in London with little more than a t-shirt. Daytime was warm and sunny too. Good.

Comment from gary
Time: June 11, 2008, 10:36 am

@katie - its natural fluctuation of temperatires within the normal parameters - In victorian times the R.Thames froze over for the whole winter, in Roman times grapes flourished in England. There is an industry set up to promote the theory - they al flew to South Africa - 6000 of them for a conference.

As for global ‘warming’ we still had heating on at the end of may

Comment from luke
Time: June 11, 2008, 11:07 am

@richardksa
Casa Mingo…rain or shine, the best chicken and cider you’ll ever have.

Comment from Edith
Time: June 11, 2008, 12:20 pm

@ Faemino

Which explains the huge flocks of Spanish tourists who visit sunny England every year to escape from the rain and the overcast skies…

Comment from luke
Time: June 11, 2008, 12:41 pm

@ Edith. I had to show my Spanish in-laws the sights in London in May and, I’m not exaggerating, there were loads of tourists from Spain. Of course they weren’t here for the weather but at the time it was 15 deg and raining in Madrid and 25 deg sunny in London.

Comment from Edith
Time: June 11, 2008, 12:56 pm

:D

True, this happens sometimes! But usually, our summer bliss inly lasts for a week or so…

Comment from Bella
Time: June 11, 2008, 1:35 pm

Nice to see another of your video blogs on here Ben.. even though it’s only a mini one!

It’s been lovely here in the UK for the past few days, but i’ve heard the forecast and it’s going to get a little cooler soon. I was in Madrid the other week and it poured down!
I was quite surprised because I lived in Zaragoza for a year a while ago and the heaviest rain I felt there was a few droplets.. not even enough to put up an umbrella!
I think the climate’s a bit different in Madrid, but still i’ve been there quite a few times, and it’s never rained before whilst i’ve been there!

Comment from bill
Time: June 11, 2008, 2:15 pm

Honestly! Showers in spring time! What IS happening to the weather?

Comment from faemino
Time: June 11, 2008, 2:25 pm

@edith, well, as luke says, you will find lots of Spanish tourists in Britain.

When we want to escape from the rain and the overcast skies we usually do as the rest of Europeans: we go the Mediterranean, to the Canary Islands or to the Caribbean. I was born 600 km away from the Mediterranean, that’s why I’m always a bit sceptical about the “goodness” of the Spanish weather.

Comment from frank
Time: June 11, 2008, 4:49 pm

“I’m always a bit sceptical about the "goodness” of the Spanish weather.”

And me! When we first started visiting Spain many years ago, we seemed to be more or less guaranteed good weather, but certainly the last few years we have experienced some very indifferent weather. Some good, and some bad. And reading the Spanish newspapers, parts of Spain have been having awful weather lately, some places looking more like Venice! Plus, continuous hot sunny weather can get to be pretty boring. I spent 2 years in the Middle East, and every day was the same, blue skies and very hot. very predictable and very boring. Personally I love the different seasons, with whatever weather it brings.

Comment from Easyrider
Time: June 11, 2008, 5:12 pm

Cosas de la africanización…

Comment from Jon Hundt
Time: June 11, 2008, 7:32 pm

I went to Madrid once (remember our fine GME?) and it rained the whole time. I had to buy an umbrella, which I never did in Holland…

As far as my own personal experience tells me, Madrid is a city of strong wind and great rain. Oh, great food and friends too!

Comment from faemino
Time: June 11, 2008, 7:40 pm

I agree with you Frank, it’s good to have four seasons.

2 weekends ago I went to the Sierra de Neila in Burgos province for some hiking in the mountains. Well, we just couldn’t do much hiking, it didn’t stop raining for one minute, was very cold in the valley and we even got some thin snow up the mountain, That was the 1st of June in Spain.

Comment from bill
Time: June 12, 2008, 9:33 am

Well May 11th turned out to be a bright and sunny day in Madrid, and May 12th has started out pretty good as well. I reckon it’s because the transport strike has reduced the amount of CO2 emissions over Spain, thus reducing the global warming in Madrid.

Comment from Edith
Time: June 12, 2008, 12:10 pm

What is the climate in Extremadura like? I imagine it to be scorcing hot in the summer and cold in the winter - is this true?

Comment from Edith
Time: June 12, 2008, 12:10 pm

EDIT scorching

Comment from Ben
Time: June 12, 2008, 12:14 pm

@Edith - scorching in the summer yes, but in winter as cold as Madrid gets, and in Spring it can be beautifully green and full of stunning wild Lavendar.

Comment from bill
Time: June 12, 2008, 2:51 pm

@Edith - Extremadura gets hot in the low parts that are meseta, but there is also a beautiful mountain range that passes through it: basically an extension of the mountains to the north of Madrid, which pass through the provinces of Avila and Cacares and on down towards Portugal. In summer it doesn’t get so hot there, and there are some beautiful valleys covered in cherry and oak.

It can get cold in winter, and it can rain a lot, but when you’re surrounded by snowy mountain tops and fertile valleys it doesn’t matter so much.

Comment from Edith
Time: June 17, 2008, 8:09 am

@ Bill

I remember traveling from Barcelona to Burgos in August years ago, and the temperature plummeted from 35 to 14 degrees Centigrade! Some of the landscapes we passed through on our way to Burgos reminded me of the American Southwest, especially the ‘high desert’ of the Colorado Plateau with its scorching summers and harsh winters.