They promised us rain and rain we have … in abundance. It was only mildly drizzling when I went out for a run first thing this morning and so I contemplated cycling to Tesco in Greenfield for some odds and ends only available in supermarkets rather larger than our village co-op store. However, as the morning went on the rain grew heavier, at times torrential. The bridle paths would be soggy and muddy and the main roads extra dangerous. Many car drivers are pretty much oblivious of cyclists at the best of times but when heavy rain is falling they seem to put on extra blinkers. And so I donned my raincoat, picked up my huge umbrella - small folding ones are no use in torrential downpours - and went out to catch the bus. The road was rather like a river. No doubt some places will flood!. Returning home with my shopping, with 20 minutes to wait for the bus, I contemplated walking to Uppermill and catching the bus from there, but one look at the huge puddles on the road convinced me that the playing field I would need to cross would be quagmire. 20 minutes in the bus shelter it was! But at least we don’t have thunder and lightning … yet!
My daughter has ventured into Manchester in the rain, rather against her will and better judgment. She and her partner went to Manchester in the sunshine yesterday morning - sunshine that rapidly became cool cloud cover but did not deteriorate further until the evening - to have brunch. This is something they like to do on occasion. While there she picked up a pair of shoes for her smallest offspring. When she arrived home she discovered that the “pair” consisted of two shoes of the same size but slightly different styles. She wanted to return them and sort out the problems as soon as possible before the others disappeared! Maybe there is a new fashion around and somewhere there is another small child with an identical “odd” pair of shoes.
We have rather too much rain at the moment but in South America I hear they are suffering from a drought. Aerial photos of the Andes show considerably less snow than in previous years. Places on lower slopes that depend of snow melt for their water supply will have problems. We need to find a way to balance the supply between the countries of the world - another need for a global effort! Will our PM address any of this at the climate summit about to take place in Scotland? We shall see.
To the north of Sardinia there is a little island called Budelli, one of an archipelago of 7 small islands. An old chap called Mauro Morandi lived there for 30 years as a sort of caretaker, fulfilling his own desire to escape to an island away from the hurly-burly and protecting the island’s ecosystem, preventing the few tourists allowed onto the island from stealing the pink sand from the beach. Then in 2013 the private company that owned the island went bankrupt. Plans to sell it to a New Zealander who promised to continue to employ Signore Morandi as caretaker fell through and in 2016 a judge decided that the island should go back into public ownership. The old gent had to leave the island and now lives in a flat on one of the larger islands. Tourism on Budelli is still restricted but it is monitored by CCTV cameras and there is nobody to explain things to tourists. Signore Morandi recently went back there to collect some belongings. “It was a disaster,” he said. “The beaches were trampled on. I knew this would happen. There is nobody there any more to educate the tourists.” Another sad story of environmental carelessness!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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