Weathering the storm can drive you to drink

You may just have noticed that the Summer heatwave predicted in early May never really materialised.Instead Met Eireann reported that this July was the wettest since records began. Things got slightly better in August when Northern Ireland recorded only its second wettest showing for that month since records began.It truly has been a depressing Summer. It feels that the entire season has once again bypassed Ireland. Last year was only marginally better and it's beginning to get to me.Even when the relentless rain momentarily ceases the sky remains a purgatorial curtain of stoney grey. It is depressing to note without any hint of sarcasm that radiators have been in use more often than suncream (which is just as well apparently because, like everything else suncream is now carcinogenic. That grievance, though, is to be aired at a later date).Anyway, you get the picture. The weather's been terrible. Then again, Ireland isn't renowned for sunshine by any means so what's the big deal? I am genuinely becoming more disgruntled by the never-ending dullness and the nip in the air. It's like I'm developing reverse SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I long for a few days of unabashed warmth and sunshine, when I'll toy with the idea of doing something active and starting a healthy new lifestyle. I can't even make such inevitably broken promises to myself this year.God only knows how the perverts are coping. They're locked away,on their own of course, from September to May chomping at the bit to get out and see some scantily clad women parading around during the supposedly warmer months. Some of them are bound to have abandoned their lives of perversion, seeking out something suitably more mundane to reflect the weather around them. Accountancy maybe.Bad weather and boredom go hand in hand and the only thing to do in Ireland to combat it is take yourself off to the pub.The Irish have garnered a reputation (and cringeworthily cultivated it in some quarters) for being relentless and hardnened drinkers. We probably do drink more than most other countries but really, we're not to blame, it's the weather's fault, honest! It only makes things worse when a heatwave is predicted and floods are what actually follow.The ethos seems to be, 'It may be raining but we'll drink ourselves silly to compensate.' No wonder Guinness is still thriving after 250 years!The pattern of bad weather enducing extra drinking has had more adverse effects on the nation. We've become addicted to it. When the weather finally breaks for one or two days and the majestic sun shines high in the sky, do we go and enjoy the great outdoors, basking in the beauty of nature? No, we see it only as the perfect day for a nice cool pint!