You always desire what you haven't got.

Aah August the hottest month of the year in most countries in the northern hemisphere. Many of us are dreaming of sunny skies, high temperatures, barbeque's, and days out at the beach. It is often images like these which are at the forefront of our minds when thinking of the British summer. It is a public holiday this weekend, including Monday, here in the UK and the sun appears to be shinning whoopee, I can cut the lawn that I have not been able to even walk on for the last 3 weeks, and the temperature is around 25c, very nice.

On average, 120mm of rainfall has fallen across the country since the start of the month, around two-thirds more than normal, this makes August 2007 the wettest on record. More than 240mm of rain has fallen on average throughout England since the start of June.

It is incredible the different takes on the weather, it seems you always want what you have not got. Here in the UK because we get such long cold damp winters we seem to worship or (maybe that should be appreciate) the sunshine and warmth, and when we get it we make the most of it or if you get a crap summer such as this year we book last minute holidays to where the sunshine is in abundance.

For example tourism on Gozo & Malta this year is the highest it has been for a long time, I am not sure that any records have broken but my friends on these 2 islands have confirmed that certainly for the months of July and August all the hotels seem to be fully booked, mainly with British tourists trying to escape the British summer.

If you speak to many Maltese or Gozitan's in the month of August, a time when the temperature is likely to be in the region of 35 - 40c and almost a guarantee that it won't rain they will tell you that "all this sunshine and dry weather is fine if you don't have to work or you are on holiday" or "I would love to fly to the UK for the pleasure of the cool climate and a bit of refreshing summer rain" .................as I said you always desire what you have not got.

"Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists"? Kelvin Throop