Rainy Days in the UK

Anyone who has ever visited the UK has probably been warned about the how much it rains. I know I was. However, no matter how many times you hear it you really are never prepared for it. It's been eight months since I arrived in England and I still get some sort of crazy cabin fever/desire to hibernate every time we get rain for several days in a row. I have yet to experience a "pleasant" sort of rain here. Ever since September, if it's going to rain for more than about 10 minutes, it is a grey, cold, dreary rain. We're mid-way through May and it looks like the end of October out there. Unfortunately I have several deadlines looming over my head which means that I can't curl up with a movie and wait for it to stop. So please, rain, rain, go away!