Stormy Weather

[mangerton]

And what a wonderfully sunny and warm start to the Glasgow Games it's been, showing Glasgow at its best (not that I've ever been there but I'm sure it's a beautiful city and even more beautiful when the sun shines) I watched the swimming and wished I could glide into a cool pool .... Incidentally I hadn't realised Tunnock's Tea Cakes were so iconic! But hasn't there been a fallout between them and Mr. Salmond?

Here, since Sunday at over 26° it's gradually got hotter day by day, only rain we've seen was an hour on Sunday evening so (I'm not complaining about having a proper Summer) I'm looking forward to it being cooler tomorrow as I need to spend a couple of hours gardening in some degree of comfort.

I don't know that wee Eck (as he's known) has fallen out with Tunnocks. Judging by his girth, I don't think so.

As you point out, it has been a great week in Glasgow, and it has been looking great on tv. A lot of time money and trouble have been spent in cleaning up many of the fine old Victorian buildings over the last forty years or so. It's been a fine week here too, but it has dulled down progressively this afternoon, and the rain started five minutes ago. It's now lashing down.

[Anna]

I don't know that wee Eck (as he's known) has fallen out with Tunnocks. Judging by his girth, I don't think so.

As you point out, it has been a great week in Glasgow, and it has been looking great on tv. A lot of time money and trouble have been spent in cleaning up many of the fine old Victorian buildings over the last forty years or so. It's been a fine week here too, but it has dulled down progressively this afternoon, and the rain started five minutes ago. It's now lashing down.

I thought I had read that wee Eck (I won't ask what an Eck is, perhaps it's related to a Northern Ecky-Thump?) had fallen out with Tunnocks because they decided not to back the Yes campaign. I may be wrong though. As to the Games, I've enjoyed what I've seen - particularly the swimming and I saw the upset of young Ross Murdoch robbing The Poster Boy of his medal, and the cycling's been good. I also now know all about the Quaich! I'm still not sure about the official Scotland regalia, the colour of the shirt was so wrong, but there again it may encourage some Spandau Ballet tribute acts.

Ontopic - it's been too hot here at 28°, terribly humid, the rays far too burning this afternoon to stay in direct sunlight, it's recently clouded up and turned black which resulted in a shower, not enough to benefit the garden though. There's been a lot of pre-publicity about Jean's Liverpool Giants, I shall have to have another look at exactly what it is and how it commemorates WW1.

[jean]

...There's been a lot of pre-publicity about Jean's Liverpool Giants, I shall have to have another look at exactly what it is and how it commemorates WW1.

It's not all that easy to see the connexion I admit, but the Grandmother apparently tells stories based on the experiences of the Liverpool Pals recruited by Lord Derby.

She wasn't saying anything when I saw her yesterday, but she was very impressive.

[mangerton]

I thought I had read that wee Eck (I won't ask what an Eck is, perhaps it's related to a Northern Ecky-Thump?) had fallen out with Tunnocks because they decided not to back the Yes campaign. I may be wrong though. As to the Games, I've enjoyed what I've seen - particularly the swimming and I saw the upset of young Ross Murdoch robbing The Poster Boy of his medal, and the cycling's been good. I also now know all about the Quaich! I'm still not sure about the official Scotland regalia, the colour of the shirt was so wrong, but there again it may encourage some Spandau Ballet tribute acts.

Yes, you're quite right about Tunnocks. Two years ago, and I'd forgotten.

Wee Eck is simply the Scottish version of Little Alex, and is a none-too-complimentary reference to our revered First Minister. Alexander is abbreviated in many ways in Scotland; Sandy and Lex are two more.

The Scottish regalia got a very bad press when it was revealed two weeks ago, and in the press photographs it looked hideous. It looked better on TV on Wednesday. I think the distance improved it. Just like the bagpipes - fine outside but dreadful in an enclosed space.

[Serial_Apologist]

Stifling here in London today, so I was surprised when I got back from a 70th birthday garden party in Sutton to see it had only reached 25.5 degrees Celsius. I would have thought it was at least 28 in Sutton. It's still 22 degrees outside right now, with the day's heat trapped under a layer of cloud and no breeze to alleviate things, unlike each night thus far when I've opened windows. Like Anna, I sure hope it's cooler tomorrow.

[Nick Armstrong]

You getting any of this Bbm? Rain, hail, ice and lightning in Sussex? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-28520520

It's lovely here!

[amateur51]

A much cooler start here today, for which much thanks but it has brightened up now & the sun is making its presence felt - lovely, as Cali says

[Pabmusic]

A much cooler start here today, for which much thanks but it has brightened up now & the sun is making its presence felt - lovely, as Cali says

Here too. 27 degrees! People will soon start complaining of the cold!

[Serial_Apologist]

We have been extremely lucky to have had the worst of this morning's storms by-passing us to the west. I heard the distant thunder at 7 am, took a look outside, decided it was going away from here, and went back to bed!

Apparently we're not out of the woods here, yet.

[BBMmk2]

You getting any of this Bbm? Rain, hail, ice and lightning in Sussex? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-28520520

It's lovely here!

Flash flooding in Worthing, heavy downpours, where I live, thunder and lightning, as well! :)

[salymap]

Flash flooding in Worthing, heavy downpours, where I live, thunder and lightning, as well! :)

I saw awful floods on the BBCnews but couldn't see where it was as the subtitles were on a different story - as they often are.

[EdgeleyRob]

I saw awful floods on the BBCnews but couldn't see where it was as the subtitles were on a different story - as they often are.

salymap!!!how are you ?nice to see you back in action.

Another lovely day in Manchester today.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The news reports of weather in Hove sounded horrible - hope all is well if a little soggy. It's been a lovely day in the Pennines: sunshine all day, temperatures reaching about 21, so not as uncomfortable as over the weekend. The butterflies have loved it, too - the largest number I've seen on my Survey. (Nothing exotic - just loads of 'em. Plenty of bees, too.) Cloudy now, but still warm: the windows are staying open. Great to have sals contributing again - it's the sort of day you wish to share with old friends. And new ones, of course.

[ahinton]

A colleague in the Netherlands has just told me that, where he works, they had 60mm of rain fall this morning within 2 hours (of which 40 occurred within in 30 minutes) - that's some 26m litres of water on the roofs which could not handle it so now one warehouse has gone almost completely under and the others in part; he added that the plant was twice struck by lightning (one some 20 meters from where he was standing) and that he and his colleagues were nevertheless lucky because Amsterdam got 130mm within that same time frame - that's 6 weeks' worth of rain within two hours...

Here in Herefordistan it's been dry, sunny and almost cloudless for most of the day and is still so now...

[Serial_Apologist]

Today looks like being the last day of the Mediterranean-type weather we've been experiencing since about the 15th, I'm sad to report, with temperatures gradually sliding back to what they should rightly be at this time of year to slightly below by Friday, with expected rain by that time everywhere. So, make the most of today, folks, especially in the south-east.

In the light of the tragic news of a lightning kill in California a couple of days ago, I found myself asking the question: wouldn't it be far more dangerous being struck by lightning while in water than on dry land? This article offers something of an answer, I think:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28521789