Being English, obviously the first thing I would like to talk about is the weather.
In the UK the weather regularly plays havoc with our lives. Events are cancelled, meetings are missed, outfits are ruined - all without ceremony or surprise. Weather forecasts are lingered over, and those who give them become notable TV personalities.
By contrast Californians, for most of the year, wake up wondering whether it will be blue sky and warm, or blue sky and very warm. The possibility of rain or cloud is so remote that it doesn't need to be factored into the social plans, dress sense or work schedule of any sensible person.
The result is that, on those rare days of bad weather, people go a bit bonkers. They huddle inside, muttering darkly to eachother about the harsh conditions. Mothers call in their children from outside, shopping carts are stocked with extra rations, wide eyes peer from windows, wondering what could have incurred the gods' wrath.
And the roads become a hazard during rain. A typical Californian driver in rain becomes like a child learning to ride a bike, who looks back too soon to discover that Dad is not actually holding onto the saddle. Self-belief is replaced with sheer panic, unfamiliar windscreen wipers flash before them, and insurance companies wait for the inevitable.
Fortunately there are nearly 300 days of sun a year in Southern California, or we might have to start sending people to the UK to build up their psychological defenses against rubbish weather.
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