Thunder and Lightning

Met Office

Dark skies, flashes of lightning, rumbles of thunder.  The sound of heavy rain lashing the Highways and byways around.  A continuous dripping hurries along at the back window, the gutters overflowing with the deluge.  The swishing sound as the rain lashes the street.  Cars, not always driving carefully, pass by splashing the water around.  The gutters cannot cope and rain sills across the road every so often lit up by the flashes, flashes which at least avoid the need to put a light on.  

The thunder moves further away, the rain eases, and all this reminds me of the day I was born.  Thunder, lightning, heaving rain storms, windows shaking and all this on an Edinburgh July.  The family interpreted this as a bad sign.  There are those who agree with them.

As the storm moves north east I hear a dog barking, a dog, that would hide under the bed trembling when fireworks explode is happy to want outside when thunder and lightning rage!

Similar rain, without much thunder, kept me in this morning.  The idea of walking in the drizzle did not appeal, especially as I knew what would follow.  Follow it did, heavy persistent rain, annoying those walking dogs that insisted in walking, and made me glad I remained indoors listening to the constant heavy dripping at the back window.  One day someone will fix those gutters.

This is not quite what Australia has been facing, it is not like the Indian monsoon, it is however, very like Autumn weather here.  Rain clouds coming up from the south west, carrying much of the Atlantic with them, brings a warmer atmosphere and a wetter rain.  Much better than the north west cold rain, often the remains of US hurricanes, of glorious memory.  That is, glorious because I do not see it as often as I once did.

Storm Liz

 

Summer is still here.  

I realised that at about 3 am when a tremendous clap of thunder brought me to life.  This was followed by the usual downpour hissing across the area.  At first I thought someone had fallen down the stairs, it was that sort of elongated rumble.  However, my interest peaked at this point and I closed my eyes as lightning flashed once again and I retuned to slumber.

I wondered if this storm could be a precursor to the announcement regarding one Liz Truss becoming Prime Minister.  I shall repeat that, 'Liz Truss has been announced as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom!'  Yes, the 0.34 of the population, or those unknowns living overseas who joined the Party just to vote for her, have given us Liz as PM.  

According to Suetonius in his 'Lives of the Twelve Caesars,' it struck me as interesting that when ever an Emperor was born an eagle was seen flying over Rome, lightning struck the Temple of Mars, and a woman gave birth to a horse with three heads.  I wonder if the lightning arrived last night in such a manner?  There has been no reports of eagles and less about strange creatures born to woman, until now at least, but it is worth keeping this in mind.

I noticed a sign on the 'Citizens Advice' centre door, 'Liz Truss PM : EMIGRATE!'

While the two previous PMs were a flop neither was as inept, lazy and possibly treasonous as Boris.  Now e have come one step further down the line.  A woman who's mind changes so often you begin to think she is a woman!  Much has been written by her backing from US billionaires who made their money from fossil fuels, and their right-wing policies are found in much of her scribbles over the years.  There is no doubt she is for the rich and wishes to ensure the cowed population behave as serfs, as she, and many other Tories, clearly intend.  There is a new level of spite and idiocy at the door, this leaves only one question: How long can she last?  I say gone before Christmas, unless she calls an election and wins.

Passing Showers

This passing shower took ages to pass, cleaning the streets and overflowing the gutters.  Jolly good I say as the streets needed a wash (remember the days when a lorry would spray water on the streets?) and while I saw no lightning and thunder was minimal over me it did show up elsewhere. 
This part of the land often has thunder after a few days heat.  When in London I sat in a pub on the Thames called the 'Mayflower.' This pub claims to be the oldest in London and also that the 'Mayflower' parked itself here to avoid taxes nearer London before heading out into the wild of the Atlantic Ocean.  Such things can never be proved but it had to dock somewhere nearby.
As we sat there a storm blew above.  Brave soul stood at the door leading to the jetty while lightning flashed across London easily seen from the view over the wide expanse of the Thames caused by the bend in the river at this point.  
I sat by the bar.  
Soon however the heavy downpour poured in through the door and the barman was to be found fighting the incoming tide of rainwater as it sloshed its way under the door.  Cries of "Man overboard etc" were to be heard.  
I sat by the bar.

Sodden Saturday

Thunder, lightning, rain, it's summertime and the living is easy.

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