Telegraph (UK): Tales from the foggy city

Michael Kerr visits San Francisco.

Fog is good. Fog is fun. Fog is a marketing slogan. There’s a Fog City Diner, a Fog City Cat Club, even a ladies’ gaelic football team called the Fog City Harps.

But fog is only the most distinctive feature of a thoroughly strange climate. As you move from one neighbourhood to another, you find yourself first under cloud, then beneath a flawless blue sky; first feeling the sun on your arms, then rolling down your sleeves against a chill. If it doesn’t feel good where you’ve stopped, then all you have to do is walk a few blocks. Think about it: this is a place where you can control the weather.