Scotland’s raining

Huh. I just checked weather reports for Glasgow to see what to pack. The BBC's five-day forecast shows the temperature getting up to 21°C by this coming Saturday (which Google informs non-metric me is almost 70°F).

But weather.com's ten-day forecast says the highest highs in the next ten days will only reach 64°F, and that mostly the highs will be around 60°F. With lows as low as 48°F.

So weather.com is telling me to pack cold-weather gear (what can I say? I'm a native Californian. I start shivering when the temperature drops below about 65°F), while the BBC is suggesting that it'll be significantly warmer than that. I'm not sure who to believe.

Either way, looks like rain.

I had a momentary pause to think, wait, which hemisphere is Scotland in, anyway? Isn't it summer there? And then I remembered that Glasgow is further north than Edmonton. Roughly level with parts of Newfoundland, with Denmark, with Latvia. Much further north than I ever think it is. Good old Gulf Stream: "The average annual temperature of north-west Europe is about 9C above the average for our latitude."

. . . Unrelated thought: I've got a story I keep meaning to mail to Interzone. (I don't want to email this particular story for various reasons.) Just occurred to me that it might be simpler to mail it from the UK while I'm there. But I have no idea how to go about that; I don't even know what size envelopes they use over there (and I've printed the story on US-sized paper). And I would have to provide a return envelope with postage to the US anyway (or just make it a disposable MS). Might be simpler to mail from the US after all. Hmm. Further thought needed. Perhaps I'll impose on some British writer for mailing tips once I get there.

Right. I'm meant to be packing. (Note clever attempt to slip into UK phrasings ahead of the convention.) Off with me, then.

6 Responses to “Scotland’s raining”

  1. Michael

    A. Bring an envelope.
    2. Any small shop with a “post office” sign out front can sell you the proper postage.
    c. It’s got to be cheaper to make the MS disposable than arrange for postage back.

    reply
  2. chance

    I believe interzone emails back for International subs, so I don’t think it ought to be all that complicated when you get down to it.

    ps – look forward to seeing you in Glasgow.

    reply
  3. David Moles

    I’m expecting the 48° will feel nice and bracing at 2AM after several hours spent partying in crowded hotel rooms, but I could be wrong.

    reply
  4. Arthur

    Take it to a post office. Say, “I’d like to mail this to Witcham.” The Scots are a very friendly people, and most of them speak English.

    reply
  5. Jacob

    “…most of them speak English…”

    Much less true in Glasgow. 🙂

    reply

Join the Conversation