When I was 17, I worked in possibly the most depressing place known to man – a Thomas Cook complaints call centre. Day in, day out for one miserable summer, I sat in a windowless box off a roundabout at a now-derelict industrial estate and listened to folk moaning about sun-lounger wars and sub-par all-inclusive buffets. It was enough to put me off package holidays for life.
But interestingly, the complaint I’d hear most often went like this: “It rained the whole time. If I wanted a holiday in the rain, I’d have stayed in Scotland!” And I suppose they were right enough. It’s reasonable to expect, when dropping significant sums on a luxurious hotel resort stay in Spain in the height of summer, that it’ll be hot and sunny.
On the flip side, it is unreasonable – in fact, it is ludicrous – to expect summer sun on a Scottish staycation. And yet, it would seem people do. This week, saying ‘misleading headlines’ about bad weather were causing folk to cancel their stays.
And I completely agree with Mr Donaldson that the ought to quit it with the unwarranted gloomy icons. Let’s be real – most sunny days in Scotland still include a bit of rain somewhere. What we want to know is, is it paddling pool weather, or should I take a jacket in the car? If I put my washing out, when should I bring it in? Weather apps would be wise to start serving people usable information in their headlines.
But that point notwithstanding, I want to know who is booking holidays in Sco.