The British summer has been such a huge washout in recent years – outstripping its traditional propensity merely to disappoint – that the word "summer" no longer seems an accurate way to describe June, July and August. As the Met Office prepares to host a "roundtable workshop" of meteorologists and climate scientists in an attempt to determine just why summer has become so hopeless, it may now be time to coin a new name for this cold, wet, unobliging season.
"Sprautumn" is a definite possibility, hinting at an interval that seems a mere bridge between two other seasons. We would, of course, need to rename other items normally associated with summer. "Sprautumn pudding" has a certain ring, but what would you put in it? The term "sprautumn fete" would, if nothing else, remind people to bring their wellies.
Another summer replacement candidate is "Indian winter": a surprisingly mild version of winter where it snows only occasionally, on higher ground. And Indian winter pudding sounds rather exotic. Other options include "slog", "cancellation", "wetten", "moulder" and the "British monsoon".
Can you do better? What kind of summer would you call this?
