Wednesday 27 April 2016

Typical British Weather.

There really is small wonder that one of the main topics of conversation among British people is that of the weather, because it really does play tricks on one.   Here we are at the end of April and what is it doing up here at six hundred feet asl?   It is snowing - about an inch has fallen; not settling for long of course, just that wet, slushy stuff which becomes so depressing.

It has been our monthly Poetry afternoon; nine of us reading out our favourite poetry and it was as enjoyable as ever.   I started with Browning's 'Home Thought from Abroad' which I always think is such a sad poem from a poet who was virtually exiled in Italy because he and his wife had eloped.   I find it sad too because of the line about the' brushwood sheaf round the elm tree bowl' because of course these days all the elms have gone to Dutch Elm Disease.   Now that Ash Die Back has arrived I wonder how long ash trees will remain such a feature of the British landscape.

I was too busy yesterday to manage to put on a post or to read any of your posts, but I have just caught up on almost all of them.  So more or less back to normal, whatever that is.

17 comments:

Fairtrader said...

Hello !!
This blog caught my eye, and I heard the titlemusic for "All creatures great and small" ringning in my ears when I saw your delightful pictures and read your posts. Is it okey for a middleaged swedish priest to look in every now ad then and take part of your daily life? I'm planning to, anyway. I have just recently found my way into the british world of blogging and found several kindred souls to enjoy. I love your pictures, and what I've read this far and I do love your little borderterrier, had one myself once. And by the way, snow and hail filled our world too, with completely surprised drivers involved in violent crashes to go with it. Spring is slightly delayed but one of our older farmers here said;" well, we needed the snow, the lands are very dry. And we have no saying in this anyway, it's up to the good Lord." So it is!

Terry and Linda said...

We are losing out Lodge Pole Pines and the Aspen Trees here. Sure is sad.

Linda

John Going Gently said...

A swedish priest ! Im in good company

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

The weather is truley bizarre Weave. We have had to bring the lambs in and the hens are in shock!

Mac n' Janet said...

It's so hard to picture snow, it's hot here! I'm not sure living in Italy can be considered an exile, could have been worse.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Our spring came - and went and came and went and is supposed to come back next week - we'll see. At least we didn't have any snow here in the Pacific Northwest - Washington state.

Rachel Phillips said...

Arctic blasts in April are not that unusual. I was once driving to North Wales in April in the late 1970s and never got beyond Liverpool because all roads into Wales were blocked by snow. I stayed in Liverpool which was also very snowy. I never managed to get to North Wales then and have never been back since.

angryparsnip said...

Goodness snow ?
We have has some very high winds that may bring some rain or maybe not. But it has brought some cooler temps.
But soon we be 100+ so cooler is better.

cheers, parsnip and thehamish

Cro Magnon said...

I live in an important Chestnut growing area, where we have a really serious problem with disease. An import from America is killing them off; folk are not happy!

Librarian said...

Sorry to hear about the tree deseases, I was not aware of that.
By the way, here in Germany, we talk about the weather just as much as you do in Britain - especially when it takes us on a rollercoaster like it has been doing for the past and this week! 23 Celsius last Thursday, eating strawberries in the sun, to frosty nights and rain over the weekend and snowfall on Monday!
But that's April for you, and it's often been this way here.

Sue said...

I remember seeing the snow sitting on top of Addleborough well into Spring. Sunny here in south west France but freezing overnight so we've still got the log burner going.

Midmarsh John said...

Though we were forecast the possibility of snow on low ground none appeared here though I believe there was slush on the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Gwil W said...

For some reason I cannot fathom your poetry group mention reminds me of JFK's favourite poem which was Alan Seeger's I have have a rendezvous with death, as I discovered recently when trawling through JFK conspiracy theory videos which I'm kind of addicted to.
The weather in the south of Austria has been terrible with late snow and slush causing havoc and damaging many crops. Today it's lovely and I plan a training run in the park.

Heather said...

Mother Nature appears to be strong enough to carry on regardless of what the weather throws at her. I am amazed that everything looks so normal considering the quick changes in temperature that occur almost daily. April can certainly play nasty tricks on us.
Glad you had your poetry afternoon to compensate for the wet slush outside, and that you were busy yesterday rather than incapacitated for blogging.

Dartford Warbler said...

Sleet and hail here yesterday, near the south coast of England, but so far we have avoided snow this year. The pears and magnolias are in blossom and birds are nesting, so it is not the right time for freezing weather!

Someone has recently started a poetry group in our village. I have really enjoyed the first two meetings.

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

Here in Ontario, we are not experiencing snow, but the nights go down to zero or more and the days are still fairly cool. Typical April, it can be anything from snowy to nearly summer. I hope your snow is the last! -Jenn

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Table tennis at my local pub was rather impossible, as snow fell on outdoor table and froze quite hard!