Just like we Aussies have a reputation for being badly dressed, racist and loud, the English are known, fairly or not, for being socially reserved and more likely to complain.
But in as spring’s sunny flower blooms, Londoners who fit the glum British stereotype are more difficult to find.
When the sun finally decides to come out of hibernation and show itself each year, so too do the Poms. In the few grassy spots in the centre of the City, liberated bankers and other corporate types can be seen laughing, drinking and picnicking (often topless) on their lunch breaks.
The Brits shed their glum exteriors (along with their clothes) and retrieving their party shoes from the back of the wardrobe. And after that long, dark, miserable winter, who could blame them?
All my life I’d felt cold when the temperature is below 25 degrees, but in London, when the weather girl promises “15 degrees with sunny spells”, I too could be found basking in the sunshine, swearing I’ll never take it for granted again. Let’s face it; anything is better than a maximum of -2, right?
Seeing all the happy, outgoing Brits emerge after the depressing winter got me thinking: maybe the conservative, whiney nature the British are renowned for is really just about the weather? Poor sods.
When the English relocate to a warmer climate (hello Australia and Spain), do their outgoing, happy summertime personalities become permanent?
In the same vein, does moving an Aussie closer to the Arctic help them overcome racism and a bad Vegemite habit?
Surely being closer to the catwalks of Milan, Paris and London does wonders for our bad fashion sense. But there are those Australians who just wont trade their footy shorts, Bonds wifebeaters and Big W rubber thongs for the world.