Anger management

My final finger person piece before an exam on public administration later today:

Right, I'm done.

Plight of the finger

All too much

Finger hug

The mind wanders all sorts of places when revision is its primary focus. I've found myself creating a happy union for the fingers of my left hand. They look so wonderfully blissful. I'm jealous of my own fingers. 

Jacket Potato

An English summer

The English delight in complaining about how horrid our weather is. It's a trait so widely held that it seems ingrained into our national identity, along with a love of tea and a suspicion of all foreign cheese. The summer of 2012 has proved bountiful for fans of the pastime, as June's widespread drizzle and wind put a dampener on May's closing week of glorious sunshine and soaring temperatures.

However, as producers of fake tan stretch out their wallets at the prospect of forthcoming sales, I wish to descent from my homeland's favourite habit. I love and adore the English weather; as well as producing a country known for its rolling green hills and beautiful countryside, it is as safe and predictable as a bubble-wrapped tortoise. It offers epic autumns and splendid springs - and besides, I don't do well in sustained heat. But more importantly, we English know nothing of truly bad weather.

The Rajasthan region of India has experienced 84 droughts in the last 100 years. Besides crippling the agriculture of the area, the droughts can also result in outbreaks of malaria and diarrhoea. When England enters 'drought', we kick up a fuss over hosepipe bans and having to wash both of our cars by hand. The current hosepipe ban enforced in several regions of the UK are due to one of the driest winters our nation has ever recorded.

Rajasthan faced five droughts from 1997 to 2002

The Joplin Missouri Tornado of 2011 killed 158 people. It was only a single tornado in a season which claimed 319 lives. The damage sustained by the Joplin area was estimated to total $2.8billion. Only a handful of people have been killed by tornadoes in the UK in the last century.

The Joplin Missouri Tornado left a path of destruction over a mile wide in some areas

In 2009 the Black Saturday bushfires of Victoria, Australia, killed 173 people and injured 414. The fires decimated over 1.1million acres of land. Although the ignition source of the bushfires was linked to several human sources, the weather was identified as the key contributing factor to the worst bushfires Australia has ever recorded.

113 people died in their homes during the Black Saturday bushfires

The cold snap that spread across Russia and Western Europe during the early months of 2012 saw temperatures drop to as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. The Russian Ministry of Health reported that over 5,500 people had been injured as a result of the freezing conditions and that 215 people had died. 

A total of 3,328 people were admitted to hospitals during the cold snap

England can be wet, foggy and lacking in sunbathing potential, but we live in a gloriously hospitable climate which seldom thrusts deadly extremes upon us. Put a coat on, book a holiday and buck up England. Have another glass of Pimm's.