Sunday, November 06, 2016

Just talking about the weather


Well, I didn't promise startling original content every day, now did I? And it beats worrying about what might happen on Tuesday and whether anything might be salvaged from the political wreck of 2016.

'What's the weather like today, centurion?'
'Hail, Caesar!'


Hail, possibly my least favourite weather. It always seems so aggressive. It's dangerous to drive in, stings the face to walk in, and is bloody noisy. At about 4 am, as it was hammering harder and harder on the Velux, I wondered how long Elfie would put up with it. Sure enough, I heard her shake her head and then perceived her quietly standing by my side of the bed. No point in trying to get her to settle, in her bed or allowing her onto ours, where she would only spend the remaining hours sitting bolt upright in anxious sentry mode, and anyway, that's the thin end of the wedge. We went downstairs and spent the rest of the night on the sofa, where it was quieter, and Tom sprawled in hearing-aid free, blissful deaf ignorance, so everyone had better sleep.

It continued to throw down hailstones all day, yet we had an impressive walk at the end of the afternoon, where it softened to shiny diamonds of raindrops, low sun making the landscape into luminous coulisses below it and casting an intense double rainbow opposite all the way.

I lose myself in agonising second conditional what-if anxieties - what if the weather had been like this when we had to flee the house? What if such a thing had happened when I'd been away and Tom had had been on his own, deaf and incommunicado? Pointless, of course; the other side of counting blessings, I suppose.


7 comments:

Zhoen said...

Having never experienced a hailstorm of more than a few minutes, I rather like them, disturbing as they are. As an oddity. Still.

Glad you and Elfie found some comfort, and a bit of sleep.

marja-leena said...

We usually get hailstorms in summer, but some of our severe rainstorms these past few weeks have sounded like hail on our numerous skylights... so I know that feeling! Be calm, be well, sensitive as you both still must be from your difficult year.

Sabine said...

Your weather is on its way towards here, just got one of the orange alerts from the local weather channel. Greetings from the land of what if, where I am an honorary citizen, I recommend only a brief visit. It's not that great a place.

the polish chick said...

don't feed the what-if beast. it is insatiable and deadly. all is well!

Avus said...

Driving in hail? You should try riding a motorcycle in it! Even hard rain can be face-painful.

marly said...

Here's hoping that the current metaphorical hailstones can turn to shiny diamonds.

I like this helpful piece: http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-get-beyond-our-tribal-politics-1478271810

Lucy said...

Thanks.

Z - are they quite rare where you are? I thought there were really cataclysmic ones in the US. A whole day of them is unusual.

ML - During the heatwave of 2003 we had a really weird, violent one, accompanied by a brief tornado. Thanks for the kind thoughts.

Sabine and PC - what-ifs about possible futures are bad enough, what-ifs about possible pasts are really pointless, yet we do continue to indulge in them.

Avus - once in the old BX we hit a hailstorm, and found ourselves skating through 180 degrees on a road with a steep drop on each side. Tom was driving and kept his head and the car on the road. Nowadays I try to pull over and wait them out.

Marly - thanks, unfortunately I can't get it without paying. We'll see.