Monday, July 18, 2011

Talk About the Weather

Leaving Florida on Friday at 1, here's how it looked through the plane window:
Pretty ominous wouldn't you say? Apparently, there was much, much more of the same during our absence. According to the paper today, 6" of rain has fallen this month, however, that may or may not be accurate because the rain gauge just since we've been home contradicts that figure.

Friday I did our laundry, unsure if hanging them on the clothes line would work because of the afternoon rains. Well, it did. Around 3:00 I noticed the sky turning darker so I headed out back to take them off the line, hoping they were dry. And they were. Just as I was taking the last items down, a few sprinkles began. Shortly thereafter, a sunshower started.
I'm not sure if this phenomenon happens everywhere, but here in Florida, the sun can be shining brightly with rain coming down in buckets at the same time. And then it stopped. But, boy howdy, did it start again, eventually dropping 3.5 inches in about three hours. And we were worried about the rain in England!

Which never really materialized, except for our time in Bath. Before we left I'd worried about the weather in England; I needn't have. Aside from the chill during our visit to Stonehenge, I was very comfortable. Despite the drizzle, we roamed around Bath, taking in the sights including the Royal Crescent.
With the gray sky and wet bricks you can tell it has been raining and might do so again, however, we trooped along just fine. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I actually didn't mind the lack of pure sunshine all that much. Now whether a steady diet of grayish skies would ever work for me I can't say, but for ten days it was somewhat of a pleasure never really knowing what the weather would do. From May to October there's really no reason to consult the weather forecast because most days it is HOT with afternoon showers expected.

It also rained during parts of our tours, again though, only for brief periods. This Costwolds village, Castle- Combe, looked even prettier after a shower:
According the the Castle-Combe website, it has been called the prettiest village in England. Although I'm no expert on the subject, I will say that it is charming in person. Ironically, we learned that the village was closed down for a month while Steven Spielberg filmed .
Speaking of which, seeing "War Horse" at the London Theater was amazing. When you see those giant puppets at such close range as we did, thanks to the terrific seats Matt purchased, you can't help but be in awe. Although WWII gets most of the attention, this story is set during The Great War, a time when horses were still used in battle. After seeing the play, Bruce purchased a used book on the subject at a market on South Bank, reading it a good deal during our flight home. Tom, naturally, knew more than all of us put together; I suspect having an historian for a father will do that for a bright young man.

I can't say often enough that I'm not much of a true photographer, never really knowing how best to use my cameras. I get by is what I do. After our trip to Melton Mowbray on Sunday, a very quick shower came down that evening. Have I mentioned how long the days are in England? Long, very long. The sun comes up around 5, setting between 9-10. So whether it could be called evening or not, I'm unsure. At any rate, I thought the rain puddles looked cool and as it was dark when I went out front, I tried very hard to set a long exposure which is a trick photographers do at night. Try as I might, I couldn't figure it out. So why am I including this photo anyway?
Mostly to show you the neighborhood and one other thing. Any guesses what that other thing might be? Since I can't hear your reply, I'll tell you. In our city it is illegal to park both ways, however, it seems as if in London you can park any old way you want. Plus, if you can imagine, this is a two way street!

Things are returning to normal around here. I did the market yesterday, Bruce has gone to the office, and Nancy is at Zumba class. You should see what she's accomplishing in the cleaning department! More on that later.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember seeing the Royal Crescent in a BBC/PBS production of Persuasion. My brother, Keith, was born in Bath. Other than being born there, my brother hasn't seen his city (town) of birth. My mother was born in London. She was a War Bride and she and my brother sailed to the US on the Queen Mary in 1946 to join my daddy who was out of the Navy by then. I've enjoyed reading about your trip and hope there's more to come.

Karen H.

Gail Peck said...

Thank you Karen for this great comment. I know two Karen H.'s and at first it confused me. Bath was a beautiful city.

Anonymous said...

I will use first and last names from now on (if I remember).

Karen Howard

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