[Arouba Shankan]

The Guardian




The rain isn't going anywhere, so you might as well learn to live with it, and even, where possible, to enjoy it. Here's how:

Dress for it
In the UK, people continue to wear summer clothes throughout June, first in hope, then in defiance, and finally out of spite. Over the course of the month they get progressively wetter, colder and more downhearted. It's time to quit thinking of summer as summer, and of Britain as some branch of the Seychelles where everything's suddenly gone haywire. Put on suitable waterproof gear, turn up your iPod and walk around about pretending you're at Glastonbury. The diminished visibility should help to maintain the illusion.



Measure it
In standard, seasonable weather, monitoring rainfall levels makes watching paint dry seem dangerously exciting. But when whole regions are receiving a month's worth of rain in an afternoon, a rain gauge comes to resemble the speedometer on a Maserati. You can even make your own out of a straight-sided glass or jar – just draw horizontal lines at intervals on the outside using a permanent marker. Label each line with a suitable unit of measurement: "Whoa", "Unbelievable", "Holy shit" or "Get in the car, this holiday is OVER". Leave it outside and wait with anticipation.

[Arouba Shankan]

Dance in it

Put on a suit, grab an umbrella and hit the wet pavements. For the title sequence of the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain, they had to cover a huge outdoor street set with tarpaulins to block out the beating sun. Then they used ranks of overhead sprayers to pour fake rain – mixed with milk so it would show up on film – on to Gene Kelly, six hours a day for a week, all during a severe California drought. You have all this laid on for you for free. Stop moaning and start splashing.

[Arouba Shankan]

Swim in it

A day on the beach can be ruined by heavy rain, but swimming is a much more resilient pastime. Once you're out there turning blue in the freezing water, rain becomes the least of your problems.

[Arouba Shankan]

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