My 11-year anniversary as a British resident passed this weekend.  11 years ago, I came to the UK without a job and without a plan of what I was going to do.

As I write this, it is Monday morning.  I am heading into London very early because I have to make time in my schedule for a meeting with the Chinese British Business Council.  It is 5:45am.  The sun is already in the sky and it is a beautiful morning.  I’m always surprised with how early the sun rises here in the summer time.  I know summer days are longer, but Summer days in San Diego are nowhere near as long as they are in London.

11 years ago, at this time of year, I remember going to bed in a very jet lagged state with a single plan – I was going to get up early, get dressed, and try to find a job.  I woke up in the morning with the sun shining through the curtains.  I went to the bathroom, took a shower, and got dressed.  I looked a the clock and was shocked to find that it wasn’t even 5 o’clock yet.  No one would wake up for a few more hours.  The streets were quiet, but the sun was shining.  Outside, it looked like the type of day where you could have a picnic. 

Today, on driving to the station (I didn’t take the bike because I’m in suit-mode), the Radio 1 DJ commented “No one is awake at this time of morning because they want to be.”  But, again, the sun is shining, the streets are empty.  I don’t know why no one would be awake at this time.  Is there really a reason to ignore a beautiful morning because of what the clock says?

The English Summer is here.  We get long days.  We get optimism—but still peppered with English pragmatism (venturing on pessimism) — “Yeah, but it will probably rain this weekend.”  We get beer gardens at the pub.  We get daylight until 10pm.