summerUK

English summers have never exactly been glamorous. For much of the 20th century, a sunny day was the perfect excuse to wear a knotted handkerchief on your head, stride around in plus-fours, and eat whelks. And that was just the women. In 2010, England's summer leisure scene is so much more organised and sohisticated, and the nation is bursting with outdoor events of all kinds: festivals, regattas, country-house concerts, sporting fixtures, jollies and jambories. Why then do so many of the English still insist on embarrassing themselves wearing laughable clothing, eating terrible food and behaving inappropriately. Welcome to the English summer.