I’m writing this well in advance of publication, so by the time you read it, the weather might have improved.
But, as I look out of my window today, torrential rain is lashing down as the wind whistles loudly.
I think it’s whistling “Billy, Don’t Be A Hero” – a 1974 No1 for Paper Lace!
Have you noticed how weather forecasters vainly attempt to make their predictions sound more varied?
After they tell us it’s going to ‘rain’, we’re told to expect ‘heavy showers’ later.
Be honest – when you’re sat on a seaside promenade and the heavens suddenly open, soaking you to the skin, do you ever wonder “Is this rain…or a heavy shower?”
Through my rain-streaked window, I noticed that a neighbour took delivery of several thousand wooden planks from Travis Perkins (other builders’ merchants are available) since when he’s been nailing them together to create an enormous boat.
He also lined-up all the family pets across the front lawn in pairs – two dogs; two cats; two rabbits; two hamsters; two budgies; and two stick insects in a jam jar. Two wasps were crawling on top of the jam jar, but I’m almost certain they’re not the domesticated variety,
Believe it or not, our inclement weather this summer (I use the word in its loosest sense) has had some benefits.
On a personal level, not only does my lawn look greener and lusher than it has for some time, but because the grass doesn’t get a chance to dry between the ‘rain’ and the ‘heavy showers’, I’ve had few opportunities to get the lawnmower out.  Result!
The wet weather has also benefited the cinema industry, which had been struggling to attract mass audiences.
‘Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ is just one film that’s doing well (although as they first appeared in 1984, aren’t they Middle Aged Ninja Turtles?) and as people have also been flocking to see big screen blockbusters like ‘Barbie’; ‘Mission Impossible 7: Dead Reckoning Part One’; ‘Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny’; and ‘Oppenheimer’, it seems every cloud has a silver (screen) lining.
Err…is that a ‘rain’ cloud or a ‘heavy shower’ cloud?