What not to do in England

Yesterday, I learned a vital lesson:

When you go out on a rainy day, make sure you bring a waterproof coat and that your shoes are also waterproof.

A bit of background information about me that you should probably know first, is that I never wear a coat. I don't like how they look on me. They swamp me because I'm so short, and they don't do anything for my figure, which is kind of a must.

The one coat I do own was given to me and is not waterproof, but it was expensive. I was told by my boyfriend that I looked like a detective and that was the end of that.

So, there I was with my two layers of hoodies and my converse at the beginning of a day out at Thorpe Park. I was ready for whatever the theme park had to throw at me. I had an umbrella in my bag that I hoped would protect me and layers of hoodies to stop me from getting cold. I knew it would be raining, but I had no idea how much...

It happened whilst standing in a queue for the Saw ride. The skies slowly opened. I thought; 'hey, this isn't so bad'. Little did I know that it would soon begin pouring torrentially. When we got off of the ride, the sky opened. In a matter of minutes I, as well as my friends, were soaked through and seeking refuge.

I paid £5 for a ghastly but effective blue waterproof poncho, with the words 'don't wet yourself' emblazoned on the back of it. My sister did the same. We were christened 'the poncho twins' after one very fetching photo of us on a ride.

We only went on two rides, by the way, because they slowly shut down one by one as soon as the rain hit. The queues were ridiculous and after waiting two hours to go on Colossus, all we wanted to do is go home and have hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows.

By the time I finally got back and dragged myself into the warm arms of my boyfriend, I looked like a drowned rat. My feet were freezing and wet, my clothes were warmish (having taken off my two utterly useless hoodies that felt as though they'd just been in the washing machine) and my mind was in a place no one would dare go. I was not a happy camper.

(Thank you darling boyfriend for cheering me up, you make my life complete.)

It wasn't all bad. The company was good and we got to go to Pizza Hut for food. But overall, I'd say we wasted our day.

So what did I learn?

That I really need to go buy a good coat and good shoes for the English summer if I am to survive it. And not to go to a theme park when it rains.