It's a fact: Sunshine causes traffic jams.

I continue to hear about the blistering heat back home in Charleston. Color me jealous! As for myself, I’m more concerned about frostbite. A sunny day is so rare over here, it not only makes headlines, but it causes traffic jams. I am not lying.

Saturday I decided to celebrate the sunshine by taking a drive into neighboring Wales to see a famous garden. Apparently I was not the only one who had this notion. The main road leading from Shrewsbury to Llangollen in northern Wales was backed up so far that it took me over two hours to cover 20 miles. Naturally, I thought at first there must have been an accident up ahead. For the massive delay, there should have been at least a multi-car pile-up if not a nice severed limb in the road. But no.

After creeping at a snail’s pace for all that time (and having to deal with a stiff clutch, which I hate more than lancing my own boils), I finally found a place to stop for lunch.  Asked in the café what was causing all the traffic. The answer? “It’s a sunny day.” Seriously?! No festivals, no parades, no public hangings; just the SUN!

Never did make it to the garden. At the rate the traffic was going, it would have taken another week or two, and my legs were aching so badly from those loathsome gears that I was nearly lame. I settled for tea and a slice of cake in the courtyard of the medieval Chirk Castle on a hilltop with a stunning view. Not a bad compensation, eh?

In fact, last Friday and Saturday was the first sun I’ve seen since the week in Cambridge – a six-day stretch the weathermen are calling “Summer 2016.” Otherwise, it has been overcast and chilly the entire time I’ve been over here. Cloudy, sometimes with rain, but steadfastly damp and chilly. I hate it. Wearing layers of sweaters and socks in July and August verily SUCKS.

I readily admit that this trip is too long. It’s my own fault, of course, but I just didn’t count on being homesick for Charleston and the heat and the sun and my house. So homesick, in fact, that last week I bought shrimp at the supermarket and fixed gumbo over rice for dinner – as close as I could come to a Lowcountry meal. If I’m cooking, you know I’m near the Edge (read: crazy)!

I must say, however, that I haven’t tasted anything that good since I left June 16. It wasn’t exactly what we eat back home but it was damned close. Fling enough hot sauce into the pot, and anything is gonna taste pretty fine, even made with packaged shrimp from Vietnam.

I shouldn’t leave the impression that I’m entirely dissatisfied. Weather drama aside, there are still plenty of high spots on this trip. Visits with my friends Tom and Jane in Newbury, and Hazel and Marcus in Nottingham, were certainly memorable. In Norfolk my fellow Charleston Spiritual Ensemble singer Doreen – a Brit who spends half the year over here and half the year in Charleston -- took me to a remarkable concert featuring a choir of 160 voices performing a Renaissance work in 40 parts. Whew!

I arrived July 27 in Shrewsbury, an ancient market town with half-timbered buildings that scream “movie set,” where I’ve settled into house swap #3. I’ve actually house exchanged near here before, in 2003. Last week I looked up my home exchange partners, Val and Pat, out in the tiny village of Withington. We didn’t meet back then, but when I called them last week and asked to drop by, they readily agreed. We spent a lovely several hours in their conservatory, which had inspired me to have my own sunroom built onto the back of my house on Ideal Way. Lots of tea was involved, and it was a jolly visit.

Back here in town I’ve gotten to hear the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain – 300 voices strong. One of their four ensembles sang a familiar spiritual called “Total Praise.” OK, there were only a couple of kids of color, but their conductor evermore brought out their soul in that powerful piece. It brought me to tears because it was the sound of home!

A couple of the older churches in the town centre – including Shrewsbury Abbey, famous as the setting for the “Brother Cadfael” Medieval mystery series -- offer free weekly recitals, which are a most welcome way to while away a midday hour. The private Wollerton Old Hall Garden about 15 miles north of here was a magnificent surprise last week, especially since there was a break in the clouds and the sun actually shone for a bit. Simply gorgeous! I got to chatting with a lady who was also wandering on her own, and stayed until the staff closed the grounds and kicked us out.

This evening I’m heading to Shrewsbury Castle for an outdoor production of “Much Ado About Nothing.” Can’t get that ambience even along the Battery in Charleston. But unlike there, I’ll be enshrouded in a turtleneck, scarves and layers of fleece.