Setanta wrote:No offense, LE, but folks in the British Isles who live south of the Scots Highlands have no idea what cold weather is...
I will say that having grown up in truly-cold Minnesota (yes, I've seen the glass of water thing), the coldest I've EVER been was the winter I spent in London. Part of that was my cheap hosts -- thermostat was turned down way further than I was used to (and I was used to mid-60's), and I was constantly cold even in the house. The other part was the
damp. I think that's what LE means about dry cold. This was wet cold and it was horrible. Pervaded everything. For a few hours overnight with blankets heaped on me I was somewhat warm -- the rest of the time, even if I layered every item of clothing I brought with me and topped it with an enormous wool scarf I was just perpetually miserable. I gained a deep understanding of the British love of tea that winter.
