What to wear?

15 minutes to 9 and I was swinging out of the front door clasping my travel mug full of good morning coffee. I was out, I was up and it was sunny again. I must say it was difficult getting up this morning, but once I forced myself, I was awake and I didn't collapse back into bed. Now it was a sunny morning, but it was not calm. There was a definite strong wind brewing up; every time I tried to take a sip of coffee, my hair would whip me in the face and I would just pull it back and as the saying goes 'keep calm and carry on'. The roads were busy; parents were taking their children to school and every single adult that I crossed paths with held a coffee cup.

What I found interesting today was the weather. I wrapped my thick scarf around me, zipped up my leather jacket and slipped on my knitted gloves. I was a pessimist. As soon as I got going, I was too hot. I had to remove my gloves, take my jacket off and loosen my scarf. I can never get it right. I'll be optimistic and wear just one jumper but then it will be too cold; I'll wear what I wore today and it will be too hot. I can't wait for summer so that I will know I can just go out with either a light cardi in my bag or nothing if we're really positive. Maybe I'll start leaving the scarf at home. I mean, what do you wear late winter to early spring?

The brilliance of phatic communication

Today I laughed to myself at the phatic communication that we use so often; where you see someone in your gaze that you know but that you don't know well enough to get into a big conversation, and so the few words that blur into one are spoken.

A: Hi you all right?

B: Yeah thanks, are you?

A: Yeah.....

That's the end of your meeting, and it's rare to even answer back to 'are you?'....after the 'Hi you all right?' part, that's usually that and the gaze is broken and you carry on walking away. Like myself, maybe you think to yourself, was she/he really asking me how I was or not? and think whoops! for walking away to quickly.

The phrase, 'Hi, you all right?' has now blurred into one greeting and has lost the questioning tone to it. The meaning of asking how people are I think has weakened, because I have noticed that whenever somebody asks me how I am and really means it, their tone is direct and deepens and this changes to when it's just small talk.

Another big one for phatic communication is weather! Every time I have small talk with someone, the weather comes up no matter what.

'It's freezing today...isn't it colder than yesterday?'

'I can't believe it's raining, I didn't even think to bring my umbrella.'

'How nice is this sunshine! Although, I doubt it will last.'

The thing that really tickles me is that I talk about the weather with everyone, no matter how close I am with them, and I can't help myself. It seems to be an automatic conversation that has to be used at least once in a day. British weather is fun, it changes all the time and it gives us something to talk about when we're in a hole and can't dig ourselves out.

Phatic communication has won me over!