Rain: A Very British Love Affair

I'm back in Britain, back to my capital, and for once, the steely grey skies of London have been replaced by a crisp winter baby blue. So why do I find myself at the back of an hour long queue to stand under a heavy downpour? The absurdity of heading into the depths of the Barbican (London's very own ugly icon), to stand in the rain is quick becoming a must for savvy Londoners. In our bowler hats and mackintoshes,we queue, patiently, politely, waiting to fulfil the cultural cliche and partake in a favoured national pastime, a brisk walk in the rain. For, in our very hearts, weathered by many a washout, the Briton is an amphibian, impervious to drizzle, and relishing a rain cloud.

Through the doors and down the dark sloping corridor, which slowly curves round to reveal a wall of water. Random International, an installation art collective, have crafted the rain room, a terribly simple but technically challenging indoor cloudburst. Tickling British sensibilities, the next step is familiar to many a commuter, the step from the bus, out the door, off the tube into the soaking open air. The inevitability of it, and the inability to turn against the polite but determined queue behind forces you forward. And it stops. But only above you. For all around the hammering cords continue, an invisible umbrella shielding the visitor from every single drop, only a smile reaching their faces, an immense satisfaction but unnerving sensation of having conquered the elements.