It´s Hail, Mary...

Extreme weather is not that unusual here.
Last winter brought the floods, and this summer has been really hot with temperatures in the 40s. The swimming pool did good business....

This week has been ridiculously windy, with all sorts of stuff flying around the village. But worst of all happened last month.

In the middle of August, with high temperatures, a freak combination of conditions led to a really heavy build up of clouds.


Even the swimming pool closed early having been given warning of what was to come. It got darker and darker, then the thunder and lightning started, followed by hailstones. We were in the car, having just parked outside the house, and the noise inside was ear-splitting, as though army of drummers were banging on the roof. We had left windows open in the house, so I had to make a dash for the door and even in that short distance I got soaked and whacked by lumps of ice the size of grapes. I dashed upstairs and closed the shutters, then went up to the roof terrace. The cotton sunshade was almost touching the table underneath, so full of hailstones it was. It took half a dozen pushes to gradually empty it out onto the roof. I reckoned there was maybe 10 buckets-full of ice. One load landed on the terrace, so I took a pic.

Then, of course, a village load of ice melted and the streets were flooded instantaneously, though thankfully only for a few minutes.

I've never seen anything like it - ever.

The weather does give us some great images though. Like this pic of the church with the storm clouds behind.

Helen Mort - Wordsworth Poet in Residence

Belated congratulations to Helen on getting herself a new job. Swapping the flats of Cambridge for the fells of Cumbria.





And a rather nice little pad (B&B possibilities there, I should think...)






She´s mentioned that she´s been doing a fair bit of swimming in the cold, cold water of Grasmere, wandering the fells and catching the sun glinting on water... cue for a poem, I'd say:

Helen´s on the up and up

with honours she´s been garnished,

but she went for a swim

in a mountain lake

now her reputation´s

tarn-ished...

No excuses now for not having space to write.

Check out her page on the Wordsworth Trust site.

http://www.wordsworth.org.uk/information/index.asp?pageid=53