Dear LPG, 

We have always been relatively lucky in this country of ours because we get such a wide spectrum of weather, although that comes with its own problems.  

I suppose that I am a first-generation Brit although my family came here from the West Indies in the early 1950s and, as a child of that era, the British summer months would bring a constant stream of uncles, aunts and friends from that part of the world, who would come to stay.  

But watching them acclimatising to the cold that they always seemed to feel, even if they came at the height of the British summer, was something we got used to during every visit while I can remember every winter being a serious challenge for everyone that I knew.  

I think we learnt that layers are the secret when it comes to wearing clothes to keep the cold out, although I recently learned that the colours you wear also have quite a bearing on keeping you hotter or cooler too.  

I always wondered why Lawrence of Aribia wore so much white in the film, although fur seems to be more important to people who live at the top and bottom ends of our world, no matter what colour it is.  

I am now planning a long-awaited holiday to visit my Caribbean family after the limitations that the pandemic has put on our travels, and I realise that I am at a serious advantage because I will only need to pack lighter coloured clothes, which are also likely to be lighter in weight, while all those relatives of mine tend to arrive ill equipped for even our hotter summers.  

Isn’t it a good thing that there is always something wintery that we can lend them to keep them warm because they usually forget to be prepared for a much wider spectrum of temperatures when they get here. 

I suppose that the one thing that has remained constant throughout time is the fact that our weather is unpredictable, but it is relatively tame when you think of all the countries that experience tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, snowstorms, monsoons and droughts.  We have had a few but when you look at the big picture ours are never as extreme as they could be, yet having a bit of a moan about it remains one of the most popular topics for opening a British conversation… 

HB, New Cross… 

LPG found a piece of information about the way that the colour of your clothes can affect how warm or cold you feel…  

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