Yorkshire is kinda stuck in weather, stuck in cold, grey and damp. It’s not just here that gets weather like this, even in my favourite place, Switzerland. Sometimes we would wake up to grim alpine weather, yet it didn’t stop the family adventure. Waterproofs on and off we went.
Happy GREY days.
That’s as bright as it’s been really….
But at least there are the first signs of this year’s flowers.
I recently bumped into someone we got to know at Hawklad’s first school and she asked after him with the following words…..
“Is he now over his Autism….”
Deep sigh…. Where do you start with that….
What’s really worrying is those words came from a Teacher.
Another seriously damp and dark day in Yorkshire. After his morning constitutional walk, it was a fight with the mad dog for the best location nearest the fire. That kinda day.
Yes it’s not just Yorkshire that gets RAIN, Switzerland gets bucket loads as well. A wonderful Hotel Owner once told us with a smile ‘It rains somewhere in Switzerland every single day of the year. Switzerland always has Chocolate, Cheese and RAIN.”
Just like on the 23rd August 2015, it rained in Switzerland.
A dark and damp trip up The Niederhorn shows that the WEATHER can’t take away the wonder and beauty of some special places. I would happily take a bit more rain right now, AS LONG as I was in Switzerland.
That’s one wet and muddy path, but it’s just a tad damper on the other side.
This winter I have genuinely had enough of this feet drenched and muddy dog baths seemingly every single day.
I seriously need some of that Alpine Paradise.
I wish I was in Switzerland right now.
Pilot having fun or maybe a pilot realising that a packed lunch was left back at The Terminal.
Lovely blue skies from a few weeks back, it’s been definitely not blue skies since then. The fields keep on getting muddier.
Perfect weather to reread Wuthering Heights, no wonder the classic grim tale was set in deepest Yorkshire.
I was chatting with a postman this morning and he talked about a man who lives near a surrounding village. At the start of January, he had moved into an old farmhouse a few miles away from the nearest housing. He told the postman that it had been weeks since he had spoken to anyone. He has no family, he didn’t know anyone in the area and was really suffering from the isolation. He had signed up to a local walking group but the walks have been cancelled due to the state of the paths. He had signed up to the local golf course, but that had been shut for weeks due to flooding. The postman was his only social contact currently. What made it so much worse was that when he went shopping to the local city supermarket, no one would ever make eye contact with him. He described it as being ‘invisible’, like he didn’t ’exist’. The supermarket only has self service checkouts so he couldn’t even chat to someone scanning his shopping.
That got me thinking. How often do I go shopping with my head down, with my walls up.
I strongly suspect that’s happening way more these days, a pandemic certainly hasn’t helped. What is clear, more people are feeling isolated and cut off. More and more people are struggling, feeling unseen.
Tomorrow I’m going to make an effort to keep my head up when I go shopping.
Eye contact, maybe a smile, maybe even saying HI.
It’s still WINTER, no sign of SPRING…. YET.
Thanks to Bill Murray, we know it’s Groundhog Day today. Various Groundhogs seeing or not seeing SHADOWS, Six or NOT Six more weeks of winter. Looking at the various Groundhog Facebook videos emanating from across the States, there isn’t just one Master Hog these days. It’s like Boxing with its multiple champions across multiple sanctioning bodies. So might as well add another weather predicting body.
Unfortunately groundhogs are a bit scarce on the ground in Yorkshire.
So it’s HoundDog Day in Yorkshire.
Ok he isn’t a pure Hound Dog, more an accident between a randy Cocker Spaniel and an unsuspecting fluffy German Spitz. But needs most. Another problem, unlike Batman, this hero hasn’t sussed out the concept of shadows yet. Actually he hasn’t sussed out many concepts. Thankfully he has found the delights of SOCKS. So the 2024 winter forecast is based on will the nutter grab the long or shorter sock. Long winter or shorter winter.
And the results….
It’s a LONGER WINTER forecast.
Actually he then picked up the short sock. So what does a Long and Short sock mean. Where is Bill Murray when you need him.
Two storms with names this week, that’s 10 named storms this season so far. It is definitely a bit bracing perched on top of a little Northern Hill. I would tell you the average wind speed in our garden but the recently purchased weather station was obliterated during the last storm.
Let’s just say it’s BREEZY and a tad DAMP.
The perfect time to put the recycling out for collection. I dread to think which country our cardboard is currently flying across.
It’s odd that you can live in a little bungalow for over 20 years and still feel completely lost when the lights cut out. The perfect time to test the various torches and battery lamps, because this newfangled piped electricity has proved a bit part time over the last few months. The other odd thing is the different perspective torch light gives on familiarity. Sat by myself in a king sized bed, in a room clearly made for two with half empty wardrobes, all illuminated by a cheap torch….
It shines a flickering, underpowered light on life and loss.
Don’t get many of these around here. It’s a FORD. It’s about the only time my car gets a wash….
You can see the houses still have sandbags up against the front doors. These days this lovely village sadly suffers from floods way more frequently.
Parked up in a traffic queue waiting to cross a storm damaged bridge, I unfortunately got to listen to the NEWS. MOST Unfortunate as it involved listening to the Government Education Minister trying to explain why more and more pupils are not attending school. Record numbers. Apparently it’s down to a number of factors,
Bad parenting
Immigration
Really bad parenting
Not enough discipline
Truly awful parenting
Benefits culture
Liberal politics
Moral standards
Monumentally bad parenting
Not enough Parents being fined for letting the Country down. Well over a quarter of a million parent fines just isn’t enough….
I guess I am one of THOSE parents the system has a problem with. Well as ONE of those parents I was surprised that the School System and Government Education Policy wasn’t mentioned. No mention of school budget cuts. No mention of the complete collapse in Special Education Provision and Support. No mention of NHS Mental Health Services struggling to cope with the huge numbers of young people crying out for help. No mention of rising class sizes and overcrowded, unhealthy classrooms. No mention of crumbling school infrastructure. No mention of rising teacher workload and stagnant pay. No mention of increasing Government control of what is taught, how it’s taught, how it’s assessed. No mention of the fanatical focus on exam results and discipline. No mention of the drive towards Victorian Education Standards.
That’s a large ELEPHANT in the ROOM.
A small nature reserve on the edge of the nearest city.
Been coming here for over 20 years and I’ve never seen it this wet.
The small pond has suddenly decided to grow, there is supposed to be a wooden viewing platform there. In fact the now super pond has completely submerged the path on the far side. No circular nature walk now.
Impromptu streams forming all over the site.
The irony, just a few months back Yorkshire was officially under drought restrictions…..
Our nearest city’s flood defences are being tested this winter.
There is usually a path here…. Initially I thought there was also an alligator waiting for hardy souls still committed to using the path. I didn’t risk it even though my online phone map was trying to send me down it. In this case I definitely ignored the naviGATOR.
A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. 