AS we were saying only yesterday, the English weather never pleases all the people all the time.

Ultimately, it's a matter of perspective. Some like it hot, some don't.

To those lucky enough to have this week off work, the soaring temperatures will mostly be an unexpected bonus. There you are, booked into the East coast only to find that your holiday has been moved to the Mediterranean - without the trouble of having to leave Yorkshire.

Hot spells are a boon to Yorkshire's tourism industry, because already busy destinations are flooded by extra waves of happy, sun-seeking visitors.

And if the "Yorkshire full" signs may soon need dusting off, who can blame the hordes of tourists coming here? After all, take one of the world's finest regions, add splendid summer weather and you have a winning combination.

With temperatures set to peak tomorrow at unusual highs, and the hot spell forecast to run to the weekend and possibly beyond, Yorkshire is set to reap the benefits of the heatwave.

Sadly, while the weather may be exceptionally fine, the outlook is not sunny everywhere. On the railways, the wrong kind of sunshine has been cutting services and slowing trains. This leaves summer sunshine as just the latest meteorological phenomenon to bring havoc to Britain's railways.

Travellers are wearily familiar with the wrong kind of leaves or snow that presumptuously falls in the depths of winter. Now, inappropriately hot sunshine has done the trick.

Apparently, the steel in the track is typically set at a neutral temperature, with leeway to allow for expansion or contraction in hot or cold weather. Unusually hot summer weather can cause the track to swell and possibly buckle. So speed restrictions are perhaps a necessary precaution.

But why is it that everything grinds to a halt in this country following a few days of snow or suddenly rising temperatures? Other countries seem able to cope with the weather, whereas in Britain a fluctuation one way or the other leads to the inevitable chaos.

Still, it gives us something to moan about, doesn't it?

Updated: 10:58 Tuesday, August 05, 2003