So it's November. It's dark and raining. The UK is heading into a proper UK winter (industrial action, tax hikes, repeats on TV).

What to do? Well of course nothing better than cook up a lamb stew with parsnips, leeks, carrots and a bottle of Guinness to bind them. No need to add anything else but some onions, salt and pepper. Slowly stewed. Should be ready in four hours. Mashed potato. Yum.

Get the central heating on, close the blinds and watch Sky Sports. Something about pre-Christmas Winter weather in the UK that beats post-Christmas January/February blues.

Bonfire Night coming up and everyone's gearing up for the "party season". Cheese in the larder. Ham and crusty rolls. Anchor butter and mustard.

I guess if I was in Thailand I'd kind of miss this in some way.

Is there anything about this that you expats miss whilst trapping around in your flip flops in Thailand?

More than one-word answers please.

No.

A few pints of good ale sitting around a log fire chatting to friends I can barely see through the fug of smoke....and of course a couple of whiskies to warm the cockles before the short walk home through the snow.

But of course now the log fire is unlikely and the smoke impossible and anyway I fly back to Samui in a couple of weeks.

Well, I only requested there be no one-word answers as I expected that as the first response

The Night's Are Drawing In, Rain..., what do you miss from the UK winter?

Old ladies slipping on the ice.

Whilst moving strategically placed flower pots?

As wrong as it may be, that made me laugh.

Thank GOD for Christmas right?

Christmas is great in Thailand. Just one day of festivity. Perfect.

Not sweating one's balls off. Not much else.

There's no place I'd rather be in the world than the UK in the summer. Equally, I'd rather be anywhere in the world than the UK in the winter.

Cosy Sunday afternoons are ok for an hour or two and then you realise it's Sunday evening and you have to work tomorrow. Shivering as you get out of the shower in the morning, scraping ice from the car. Work. Christmas costs a fortune and you have to spend most of your time with boring relatives, pretending to be having a good time. Then you're back at work and it's January and it's still freezing cold and will be for another five months. Miserable people. There seems to be a certain type of person that thrives in the winter, they seem to enjoy the grimness of it all. They're not to be trusted, and the country appears full of them. Outdoor recreation grinds to a halt, there's practically nothing to do that isn't either expensive or unhealthy or both.

Winter in the UK? Not for me thanks.

Actually, what I really miss is Spring...for me April/May was always the best time of the year. Quite 'fresh' in the morning...etc etc....otherwise not much. After the children grew up, Christmas was never the same, Bondfire Night..you can keep it. We are settled here now, yes a completely different life style..but we love it.

Actually I rather like it.

Down the old super this morning and got 4 pints of milk for 99p..500 grams of Chedder for £1-60 and 3 Bottles of not bad plonk (red of course -politics init) ..for £8 quid.

Our local Boozer...big real fire does Carling /Cali/Heine @ around £2 a pint..real ale £1-80 and had not a bad brown eyed girl/Vera Lynn singalong band included.

Landlady sometimes does a load of roast pots and a few plates of greasy pork sausages for TIT locals .......fodder food ...yeah its realy miserable in Blighty at the Mo ...roll on Xmas ..T-land can wait...

Actually ..got a do at the Embassy week after next so that will do for this year ....HE the Ambass...is a bit of a lad...but that Thai wine he keeps on forcing me tae drink...luva a duck...which reminds me....

Just like me in Poland...

I never miss Polish winter when I am in Thailand in February.

I don't miss driving home from a 12 hour shift in the snow. A journey that normally took 20 minutes driving through the countryside, taking up to 5 hours as I had to go the long way round in traffic that is more stationary than moving. I'll take mozzies over cold damp snow any day.

This post has been edited by Mosha: 2009-11-02 07:35:14

smokie 36.

re .... Christmas is great in Thailand. Just one day of festivity. Perfect.

reasonably true ... but the run up to it starts in september ! .... just the same as the uk .

enjoy pic ..... dave2 .... 9 30 monday morning and 81 F ... 28 C

Bugger, the Polish have now invaded a UK posting on a Thailand forum.... no escape

J O K E = Joke...

I've been to Warsaw in Novemeber.... twas a little cold..didn't like your national dish of soggy dumplings and weak gravy/soup....

Loved watching people queue up at 7 am to eat kebabs for breakfast before work.... very weird..... nice kebabs.....

I've got a visa run scheduled to Laos on Christmas day! Living in an Isaan village Christmas goes unnoticed - which suits me fine. Too many bad memories. The GF's kids have birthdays close to Christmas and we'll have cake and candles anyway. Give me Songkran and water anytime, especially in a civilised way up here, not like Pattaya.

Trying to look genuinely pleased to see your relatives that you only speak to once a year and trying to look 'over the moon' about your white socks and Christmas boxer shorts from your nan (bless her) It is modern day torture for us and slavery for the mum who runs about all day to keep everyone happy whilst the rest laze about playing mind mumbling boring pointless games whilst you keep looking at the clock trying to make it go faster so that you can go for a beer on Boxing day and watch the football.

You can keep winter in the UK whilst I wake up every morning to the sunshine and happy faces :-)

Have you noticed how all the people who like, or at least tolerate winter in England, can only do so with alcohol? I'll take Thailand any day.

Definitely NO

But little old men, slipping on ice, are equally amusing, no ?

Joking about women only, must surely break some new UK-law or other, about political correctness !

Well, I miss a pint of real ale with friends in a traditional English pub, and the conversation that goes with it.

But then as I opened the back door this morning and a cool breeze blew in, I thought the cool season was definitely on the way here in Thailand too. I checked the thermometer, and it was a delightful 29C. So, on balance, i'm not too worried about the pint...

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