Rain Rain Go Away.

I felt like turning on the camera & talking about the weather. Well, it's what us Brits do best isn't it?

Down To The Sea.

"I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky"

That is the first line from the poem "Sea Fever" by English poet, John Masefield. Now, i'm not in any way a big poetry fan. But, that line just came to me as i sat down to write this blog post.

Why?, you ask.
Well, i've just been down for a walk by "the lonely sea and the sky" & felt compelled to write something about it. Isn't that what blogs are all about, after all?

I'm very lucky in that i can see the sea from my bedroom window. Ok, i have to look out of the window at just the right angle. But, if i was trying to sell the house, the words "sea view" would no doubt appear in the description. As it happens, if i lean out of my rear bedroom window i can see Hastings castle (built in the 1080's, by the Normans) Well, what remains of it. But, that's another story...

I have lived in Hastings & close to the sea, for over 20 years now & in that time the sea has never lost any of it's initial appeal. I think you naturally feel that after you've lived by the sea for a while, you would get used to it & maybe not notice it quite so much. I know that this does happen for many people. But, in the case of my wife & i, that has not happened. If anything, i think i appreciate the sea more & more as time goes on. The fact that the sea front is so close to my home may have a bearing on that. As might the fact that i wasn't born here & moved here purposely to be near the sea, amongst other reasons.
I have got so used to living by the sea now, that i'm not sure that i would ever want to move away from it & i know that my wife feels exactly the same way.

Anyone who has ever walked by the sea, or on the beach, especially in relative solitude, would understand the calming effect that that walk can have & that was primarily the reason for my walk today.

I am currently going through one of those life changing periods that occur in most peoples lives, more of which at a later date & having the sea so close at hand has been of great benefit to my peace of mind.

I was out walking along the beach the other day, with the sand beneath my feet & between my toes & i thought to myself "I really ought to try & get out for a walk by the sea far more often".
It was one of those great summer afternoons. The tide was out, the sand was exposed & i was able to walk along a, relatively, deserted beach in my bare feet, with my feet in the water & all  in the warm sunshine too.
It's at moments like that that you realise how lucky you are & that life could be a whole lot worse.

I have a feeling that there will be many more walks down to the sea to come in the near future.
I can't wait.

Books & Reading.

How do you read

Just One Winter.

I received an email from an American friend of mine today.
In the email he just happened to mention that his local area was forecast to have it's first real snow of the Winter in the next day, or so. That storm was going to bring approx 13" of snow with it!

13" of snow?! If that amount of snow fell in the UK & especially anywhere near me, it would totally paralyse the country & probably for a number of days as well. Everything would come to a complete standstill & we would become the laughing stock of most other countries.

In my reply, i said that i would love to experience a "proper" Winter, if only once.

Living in a nice temperate zone here in the UK, we don't really suffer any real extremes of weather, or temperature. Yes, we have our moments. But, when you look at what other parts of the world put up with, it's small fry in comparison.
That may well be a good thing? But in reality, it can get a little boring, especially these days when all the seasons seem to be blending into one warm fuzz.

Just once, i'd love to see what a real Winter, or Summer for that matter, was really like.
I realise that i'd probably have to go abroad to have this experience. After all, i'm not sure if it would be quite the same to do this in Britain.
The key, in my opinion anyway, would be to see how a country copes with this kind of weather, when it is perfectly normal. Life just goes on & people just get on with it.

When i've been lucky enough to be in Spain for a Summer holiday, i've often thought that i'd like to spend a whole year there. If only to experience all of the seasons & to see how life alters throughout the year.

When we go on holiday, or visit a country, we only ever see a sort of snapshot of that country & of the way of life.
To truly experience that way of life, you need to live it. But, unfortunately, we don't normally get that chance.

Maybe people in countries with "real" weather would rather be in my position? I wonder.

Maybe we should start an international seasonal weather exchange program?

Where do i sign up?

It's Raining Again.

This morning my son said to me "i can't remember the last day when it didn't rain". I had to admit to him that i couldn't either.

The weather in the UK over the past few weeks has generally been pretty atrocious. Here on the South Coast at least, every day has been a seemingly constant blend of heavy rain showers & strong winds. Wave after wave of deep low pressure systems have been sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean, bringing that wind & rain with them. That's one import i can well do without thank you.

It is either raining, has just stopped raining, or is just about to rain.

I know that down here in the South of England, we have had things a lot easier than some other areas of the UK & for that i guess we should be thankful?
I read recently that in Scotland & the North West of England they had had a Summer full of record rainfall. At least down here we had a decent, dry Summer.

I happened to say to my son that i could now understand why somebody might suffer with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Apart from the Winter nights closing in, which i know is a major factor for SAD sufferers, the lack of any normal sunlight during the days surely can't help?

Luckily, the Winter months have never held a problem for me. But, the past few weeks are enough to get anyone down. Especially for somebody like myself, who likes to get outside. This is something that has not been very practical, as you just do not know what type of clothing to wear. There is always the obvious danger of getting quite literally soaked to the skin.
As i pointed out in a recent blog post, this can be quite exhilarating when running. But, not a lot of fun when all you want to do is do some shopping, or meet a friend.

Unfortunately, this recent weather is increasingly becoming the norm at this time of year. Whether this is as a result of global warming, or climate change, i have no idea. But, i'll admit to believing that it is.

Our weather, at least here on the South Coast & i suppose i can only really talk about what i know & experience, has certainly altered over the past few years.
Our Summer's are generally warmer, sunnier & drier & our Winter's are noticably windier & far wetter. They are also warmer as well. We get far less frost & low temperatures than we used to. Snow, which was never a regular occurence here i'll admit, is now very rare indeed.
When it rains nowadays, it always seems to be far heavier than in the past & the winds seem generally much stronger & gusty.

I've often thought that this was just me. You know how it is, the weather of the past was always nicer & more reliable in our memories. But, increasingly, i don't think this is the case. More & more people, like my son, are now noticing the same thing as me.
Maybe i'm not going mad after all?

I suppose this is just something that we are all going to have to just get used to in the future? Especially if recent experience & climate predictions are anything to go by.

Maybe i could try & arrange to spend my Summer's here in the UK & fly away to the Winter sun, like a swallow. If only....

And, guess what, the rain has stopped & the sun has come out.
I wonder how long that will last?