Rain, rain go away

The weather has been dreadful all weekend. I genuinely feel sorry for all those tourists that eagerly arrived for a sun-drenched holiday just a few days ago, to be greeted not by the beautiful hot sun but instead by thunder, lightning and constant rain.
Proof that living here isn't all a bed of roses, this weekend's storm left us with hardly a thing to do. We also had friends staying with us... they own a holiday home in the village where I grew up but whenever they come over for a break, they always come and have a weekend out in the country with us.
But what to do? It rained almost from the moment they arrived. On Saturday morning, we popped to the local shopping centre to buy some bits n pieces for dinner and the place was heaving with people. I hate crowds. I become claustrophobic and uncomfortable... however, I do love shopping so I tend to grin and bear it. Saturday, however, was another story and I just wanted to get home and put my comfy slippers on!
Whenever it rains here, all the shopping centres fill up - it doesn't make any difference whether it is a light shower or a full on storm, shopping becomes a nightmare. Is it the same the world over? Or is it just here because there really is very little else to do but shop?
What else is there to do when it rains? You can't very well go to the beach or the local waterslide parks can you? To be brutally honest... there isn't anything else to do.
In the winter, my husband and I are almost always at a loss what to do. We used to go out for long drives in the country but even that has become a tad tedious... having gone down those same routes time and time again. We dream of faraway places where you can go ice skating, roller skating or even skiing - just for something totally different to do with our time.
Many a Sunday morning, we find ourselves meeting friends for a coffee, often at the (surprise, surprise) shopping centre where we spend an hour catching up before heading our separate ways and then wondering what else we can do to while away the time.
After returning with our friends this weekend, we sat down to a nice cup of tea, occasionally eyeing up the storm outside before my husband decided to start preparing dinner. It was, after all, something to do. With the ducks roasting in the oven, we sat and played Rummikub for a couple of hours before enjoying a super supper while watching Strictly Come Dancing on TV.
The following morning, our friends were keen to head home but found themselves struggling to get out of our house due to the ferocity of the storm. In the end, they decided to brave it and made a swift escape, leaving us, once again wondering what to do with ourselves.