Welcome to Wellies Weather

It's raining again. Not even properly raining, which makes it all the more insulting. It's drizzling, showering, spitting...pretty miserable really.

All in all, not the greatest time to start my blog about Oxford, unless you count dodging the spray from passing cars by Magdalen roundabout or taking an unplanned swim in Port Meadow as the event of the week. I wanted to talk about the hidden side of Oxford; the pretty lanes and glimpses of countryside; the hidden nooks and crannies where you can escape the tourists and the quiet reading spots where time seems to stand still.

But these shall have to wait. Instead, this is a week to splash around in puddles; to run, shrieking in the rain, brolly held aloft like a tour operator on speed, leaping from cafe to shop to restaurant to club, discovering places you might never have ventured into had it not been raining. This is a week to spend exploring the miles of books in Blackwells, to catch up with friends or meet strangers in cafes and to resoundingly announce your denial of winter to the world by indulging in a G&Ds ice cream.

Wear your brightly coloured scarf with pride, ditch your sensible shoes for some funky wellies and enjoy the choreography of umbrella dances as you dodge past bus queues and shoppers. This is Oxford at its most traditionally English - in a shower of rain.