Stormy Weather

[Nick Armstrong]

Oh, Mr. Picky! Well I meant stars as well which have been brilliantly twinkling because any fule no Jupiter and Venus are planets! Can I see Mercury? I can see the whole Universe from my Eyrie
Edit: Having checked, Mercury will have dropped from view by now, around the 4th was the best evening to view

Did you like my ahinton impression?

Looks like it's going to be a week of balmy and sunny weather, and plenty of opportunity to enjoy the celestial show after sunset

[Angle]

and later in the evening and to the east, Mars in all his glory

[Nick Armstrong]

and later in the evening and to the east, Mars in all his glory

[marthe]

Jupiter and Venus are in a horizontal line this evening and quite close together. We've been watching these two planets since the autumn. The show has been wonderous. Early June there will be a transit of Venus, a rare and significant astronomical event. The last one was in 2004 but the next transit won't occur for another 120 years or so.

[marthe]

went limping the hip artound Rutland Water .... warm sunshine and the bluest of skies ... lots of people out and all seemed in a good mood .... lots of good days and isn't it lovely etc ... and then watched the rugby .... honestly it does not get better than today ....

Calum, which part of Rutland Water did you go limping around? Year's ago (mid 70s) my husband and I were part of a small archaeological team that excavated a Romano-British villa/farmstead at Whitwell overlooking the immense reservoir that was created by flooding the Gwash Valley in Rutland. The excavation was done in advance of the construction of a car park and leisure centre. It was a lovely spot made even more enjoyable by the presence of an excellent pub, the Noel Arms, which was on the road to Empingham. We were always intrigued by signs of life as it had been before the flooding...the road to Edith Weston running down a hillside and straight into the water, the church at Hambleton (I think) sitting on a tiny little island. Oakham and Stamford were close by for shopping, the laundrette, and more pubs, of course. Fond memories of younger days.

[cloughie]

Oh, Mr. Picky! Well I meant stars as well which have been brilliantly twinkling because any fule no Jupiter and Venus are planets! Can I see Mercury? I can see the whole Universe from my Eyrie
Edit: Having checked, Mercury will have dropped from view by now, around the 4th was the best evening to view

Celestial fog here last evening, seeing the road was difficult enough?

[Anna]

Celestial fog here last evening, seeing the road was difficult enough?

They were blazing brightly here but then the mist started to rise around 7.30pm very rapidly. The Transit of Venus (does that sound rather like a porn road movie to you?) that marthe mentions will only be partially visible in the UK, marthe will be able to see all of it where she is.

Fog still lingering, forecast not hopeful of any clear skies tonight or indeed rest of the week here.

[Nick Armstrong]

The Transit of Venus (does that sound rather like a porn road movie to you?)

... with some unsubtle product-placement by Ford...

[Serial_Apologist]

They were blazing brightly here but then the mist started to rise around 7.30pm very rapidly. The Transit of Venus (does that sound rather like a porn road movie to you?) that marthe mentions will only be partially visible in the UK, marthe will be able to see all of it where she is.

Fog still lingering, forecast not hopeful of any clear skies tonight or indeed rest of the week here.

Hi Anna, and everybody

Dull and misty here at the mo'; it looks like sunshine and warmth are going to be pretty randomly distributed until this stagnant high moves away, and we get a sort of break on Saturday with rather weak-looking weather systems coming in with some rain from the west. The weather circulation is usually pretty lively at this time of year, approaching the equinox, with deepening lows whizzing across the Atlantic along the meeting boundary between still cold polar air and warming tropical air, lots of isobars, lots of rain-bearing fronts, but not this year. Have to say, in all my years of amateur observations (starting in 1959) I've never seen anything like it. There's talk of piping much-needed water from the Severn to the London and the SE, but, as an agriculturally appropriately attired man (flat cap, checked short, tweed jacket, wellies) said yesterday in a delightful Gloucester accent, "They'm as already takin' waterr for six million from the Severrn, and we ain't got knee more t'offerr". Since the drought of '76, the habit of running the tap at a trickle while teeth brushing has stayed with me.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

excellent pub, the Noel Arms, which was on the road to Empingham

ah my, marthe, the seventies in Rutland! ... i came at the very end and the eighties were more my scene here .... Sam Healey kept the Noel Arms in excellent form as one of the two best pubs in the known universe - the other was the Jackson Stops in Stretton kept by Mr Robert Webster if you got to it ...

we were by the Hambleton Church and then Sykes Lane ... i suffered sunburn!

violets were just coming out should be seeing the bluebells soon ...

Mr Sam Healey led the project to twin Whitwell Village with Paris [something to do with EU and fishery policies were involved i think and also lamb] the notice announcing this twinning has only just been removed by the vandals and villains at the Rutland District Council ....shame on them!

[marthe]

Calum, thanks for the picture! In our time at Whitwell/Empingham (we were staying in Empingham, working in Whitwell) the Noel Arms had a wonderful landlord named Claude. It was a free house then and served traditional, and very good, pub food. I learned to play Shove Ha'penny at the Noel Arms. One evening while we were sitting there minding our own business, I rather larger-than-life American woman came in with her English friends. At some point she said in a very loud voice, "I thought I was the only American around here" and sent a look to kill in my direction. I was mortified that one of my compatriots was behaving so rudely. I never knew the Jackson Stops in Strettford. We were never there at Bluebell time. What a sight that must be!

Weather today is drizzly and cool. Sun tomorrow with warm temps. Our son is flying in from San Francisco on Thursday so I hope the weather turns pleasant for his visit.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

stretton marthe ...

[marthe]

Breathtaking, Calum...many thanks!

[Anna]

Ditto Calum, Bluebell time is a fantastic sight. As to star and planet gazing I find it is known as Dark Sky Tourism a lovely way of describing it!

Referring to S-A's post about transferring water from the West to London and the S.E. The Environmental Agency Wales have ruled out Welsh water being transported due to prohibitive cost plus, although at the moment we are not in a drought condition our position is not good, any further dry conditions could result in Wales being in a similar position. Water metering in the SE is only 30% which is very low compared to other regions. I wish people would realise how much water they waste on a daily basis, not running taps whilst cleaning teeth at S_A says but using washing up bowl and using that 'grey' water to water plants in garden, having a water butt, a 5 min instead of a 30 min shower, not using washing machine to wash item only worn once, using dishwashers, etc., etc., plus, of course the Water Companies repairing the leaks!! (particularly bad I see in London & S.E)

[cloughie]

The twinning with Paris - songs/music titles that wouldn't really go:

April in Whitwell
An American in Whitwell
I love Whitwell
Whitwellian Walkways
Une nuit a Whitwell
Under the Bridges of Whitwell

Or the Film
Last Tango in Whitwell

Meanwhile it's still Misty here, no not the song!