Stormy Weather II

[oddoneout]

Not cold but horribly windy - was rudely kicked out of my slow rise to consciousness and mobility(joints lock during the night) by the sound of the recycling bin going over. That has to be dealt with quickly to prevent the lighter contents being strewn down the road - unlike some others I can't leave it to "disappear". So hobble downstairs and hoick it upright and put the bungee on the lid(which I should have done last night but forgot), and move the empty general waste bin from its embrace with the car. There has been some rain but the wind has dried most of it up already and the sun will finish the job.
This will not be helpful for visitor attractions - some may have to close as a precaution and I suspect there will be damage to the likes of gazebos/marquees. Not ideal camping weather.
Which reminds me of a family camping holiday in the mid/late 60s when we'd managed to get right down to the Mediterranean coast(not the original plan but that's another story), and a campsite in the dunes right by the beach.During the night there was the most horrific storm; we 3 children slept through it in our tent(parents were in the campervan) and woke in the morning to a re-arranged landscape. Caravans in the dunes(fortunately all empty as it was outside main holiday season), had been tipped over and/or buried, and we could see all kinds of debris, including some remnants of tents, blowing around or part buried. As we were blinking in the sun and trying to make sense of what had happened there was a yell and the owner of the site appeared. He couldn't believe that we we still there and OK and became quite emotional, and insisted on going and getting some breakfast for us. When he came back he said it was a storm that was so bad it had made national news - shipping had been affected, roads blocked etc, and he hadn't seen the like for decades. There were only 2 or 3 other tents on site, further away from the beach, and they had had to retreat to their cars during the night. It was certainly a ringing endorsement for the rather unusual design of our tent - it had the frame on the outside and a stitched in ground sheet, so the wind hadn't been able to get under and lift the canvas off like the other tents and the frame had flexed but not buckled or broken. Good thing we hadn't needed to put the flysheet up(weather was dry so wet protection not needed) as that might have changed things...
Very sad to see the amount of oil blown onto the beach, which meant a walk there, as we had done the previous day, wasn't possible.

[Serial_Apologist]

What an extraordinary story, odders! I can remember an August fortnight camping in N Germany. We'd taken spades with us on the advice of the girlfriend's father, and with the likelihood of a nocturnal thunderstorm, dug a moat in the soft sandy soil. The next morning we discovered we were one of the few campers not to have been flooded out, so there's a lesson to be learned for campers everywhere there.

We got off very lightly last night - a quick stroll around the block reveals no fallen branches, not even the usual twigs and leaves. The strong winds quickly died down this morning as the isobars have opened out to give a beautiful warm and sunny day. Once tonight and tomorrow's deep trough has passed through the signs look increasingly promising, with high pressure building to the east from midway through next week and holding the Atlantic weather back into the start of September.

[Petrushka]

Very strong winds here overnight in Staffs. Trees have been brought down and power cuts have been reported in the locality. August eh?

[oddoneout]

What an extraordinary story, odders! I can remember an August fortnight camping in N Germany. We'd taken spades with us on the advice of the girlfriend's father, and with the likelihood of a nocturnal thunderstorm, dug a moat in the soft sandy soil. The next morning we discovered we were one of the few campers not to have been flooded out, so there's a lesson to be learned for campers everywhere there.

We got off very lightly last night - a quick stroll around the block reveals no fallen branches, not even the usual twigs and leaves. The strong winds quickly died down this morning as the isobars have opened out to give a beautiful warm and sunny day. Once tonight and tomorrow's deep trough has passed through the signs look increasingly promising, with high pressure building to the east from midway through next week and holding the Atlantic weather back into the start of September.

It was gusting over 40mph through the morning here, and has only noticeably dropped in the last hour. A lot of debris and some things now "on the huh" in the garden. The recycling bin has stayed upright and the waste bin's repeated love-in with the car wing mirror can be terminated. Tomorrow is my day for going to the city, so the prospect of heavy rain brings mixed reactions - we need the rain but it's not pleasant for waiting at busstops, and getting around once there. At least the significant drop in wind speed should make the bus journey less alarming...
Some places have had a bad time of it, with events being affected, according to news reports. It's at times like this that I question Starmer's kneejerk dismissal of people's objections to uncontrolled pylon construction - the power supply in this part of the country is mostly underground and it certainly limits the amount of disruption in extreme weather. The offshore supply currently being brought onshore to connect with the National Grid is being put underground as well - the construction of works access points closes roads and lanes in the local area, which can make getting around a bit of a challenge and causes some headaches for bus services, but the construction of pylons would also be disruptive, and would leave its mark permanently visible on the landscape which up to now has been clear of them.

Your story about moat construction made me smile - we always had a spade with us and diverting water was sometimes a regular occurrence on holidays in the Lake District and parts of Scotland. The move from belltents and Jay tents to frame tents with sewn in groundsheets on the sleeping pods made things a bit easier, but didn't totally eliminate the need.

[DracoM]

Appalling a.m. up here: heavy rain, vicious gusty westerlies. Hey ho, eh?

[eighthobstruction]

....getting cold in my house 19c at this time is cold feet and cold knees....

[Serial_Apologist]

Looks really good hereabouts over the next week. Plenty oppos for longish cycle rides and walks. Might just venture round the neighbourhood and suss out some new eateries I've been coming across by accident. This district is not the tourist honeypot it was for the Victorians; one can insouciantly lurk from outdoor snackery corner tables and do occasional chat with friendly strangers or grump about the park being taken over by thumpy music events without being asked "Are you from around here?" "Are you American?" "Which direction is the Dulwich Picture Gallery and which is the shortest walking distance?", etc etc. Local cats sometimes come up to one, too.

[eighthobstruction]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rihNRTTcztQ

[Serial_Apologist]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rihNRTTcztQ

That and The Sound of Music were the live musical itinerary of the Brasserie down at Lyons Corner House, Coventry Street, ca. 1965, always overturing with The Sound of Music theme song, sung slightly sharp with backing band in pretend-Hungarian gypsy attire. It was still better than the whatever was just now coming from the open air rust bucket stage colloquially known as the laptop, once graced by well-known names of rock and reggae. Free music in both senses; £2.50 each for a slice of carrot cake (some offerings never change) and a carboard beaker of tea which collapsed scalding my hand as I carried it to a place to rest ma achin' bones. They don't make unrecyclable beakers (comma) the way they used to.

[eighthobstruction]

....yes you had to ask for a second cup to stiffen it up....did you ever have anything to do with Folk Clubs while you were in Bristol...

....the reason for the Poppins was from your explaination I could just imagine you on a sit up bike riding around spreading grace, charm and goodwill....

[Serial_Apologist]

....yes you had to ask for a second cup to stiffen it up....did you ever have anything to do with Folk Clubs while you were in Bristol...

No, I went the jazz route once it was apparent that one was expected to sing along with chorus lines at folk clubs; but The Troubadour in Old Brompton Road, while expectedly known as a folky joint, (Bob Dylan was reputed to have popped in around 1963 before most people knew of him in this country), also put on jazz and, especially, jazz 'n' poetry nights.

....the reason for the Poppins was from your explaination I could just imagine you on a sit up bike riding around spreading grace, charm and goodwill....

I was a waiter there for 12 weeks; we did have to skedaddle to get custom through before first theatre sittings, mind, and more-or-less survived on tips we were allowed to keep - good incentivisers of good service, restauranteurs of today forget. One party of 12 knocked up a large bill, at the end of which the wife (presumably) had to remind the host to leave a tip. He handed the waiter a sixpence - way below the usual 10% minimum. The waiter then handed the sixpence to a small child in the party with the words, "There you are dear, buy yourself an ice cream", whereupon the wife told her, "Say thank you to the nice waiter"!

[Serial_Apologist]

Cooler weather follows today's heat in the SE with high pressure edging in from the west, but the anticyclone then takes up residence to our NE, allowing thundery weather over the Continent to edge into the south next week, it is thought.

[oddoneout]

Cooler weather follows today's heat in the SE with high pressure edging in from the west, but the anticyclone then takes up residence to our NE, allowing thundery weather over the Continent to edge into the south next week, it is thought.

It was indeed hot on Wednesday, so volunteer gardening was a bit of a slog - not least because despite the low humidity it felt very muggy.
Today is much pleasanter, cooler and fresher, due in large part to a strong westerly breeze. Humidity levels the same as yesterday, low.

[Serial_Apologist]

With a small low taking up residence off the SW approaches early next week indicating unsettled conditions, it does seem as if the "zonal" westerly/sou'westerly break, which traditionally bore us around 75% of our weather, will once again become stuck, with N/S blocking down the mid-Atlantic; and so my hopes of a week of anticyclonic weather are being "over-ruled", for the time being at any rate.

[DracoM]

So..autumn starts more or less as filthy, as murky, as mood-depressing and chilly, wet and windy as the drab summer most of us have just had - or at least those of us north of London....