English weather

It is July in England and so, of course, the weather is cold, wet and miserable. Yesterday afternoon it rained so hard that a lake began to form in the back garden. But it has always been so; here is Princess Lieven writing in 1820 about English weather (and temperament) in a not very complimentary vein:

'The sun, a rare accident in England, has been shining here for several days. I prefer the fog and the rain; they have a more definite character. Foggy weather offers no disturbing contrast; England is then frankly depressing. Clumsy attempts at gaiety do not suit it at all; like all pretensions they seem clumsy and out of place.'