Weather watcher: why Matt Gaw is a man for all seasons

In his glorious ode to the inclement, author and teacher Matt Gaw reveals how all weathers transform our relationship with the natural world – the secret is to open your senses and immerse yourself

I don’t usually pray for rain before an interview, especially one taking place outdoors. But a few days before our scheduled meeting, Matt Gaw tells me the chance of some precipitation is “half decent”. Excellent. As I leave north London there’s a faint, almost invisible drizzle in the air, but by the time I’m in Suffolk, the wind has blown that away.

Why do I want rain? Gaw, a nature writer, has just written a book about weather, In All Weathers, in which he argues we should experience it in all its forms. We are culturally programmed to see sun as good, pretty much everything else as bad. As soon as children are given crayons they draw smiling Teletubbie suns. In books and films, rain signifies something ominous around the corner. Mist hides scary things. Snow, perhaps an exception, is magical – until it turns to slush.

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