For a short time this morning I thought the weathermen had got it wrong.
Rain, rain and more rain, they said. And yet I went out running under a mostly blue sky and with the sun shining nicely. Not a bad day at all! By the time I had showered and put some breakfast on the table, however, it was starting to rain, just a bit of drizzle at first but gradually settling into a quiet, steady downpour. So far we have had no torrential downpours like yesterday. Neither have we had thunderstorms. There is time, though, for such things to develop!
In southern Europe, in particular Greece and Turkey, wildfires continue to rage. A friend of a friend has been ranting sadly about the poor provision of firefighters in more rural parts of Greece. It seems there is better provision closer to Athens. He sees it as a political decision and a lack of coordinated policy, the consequence of which is that fires that could have been contained have grown and spread and become unmanageable. Small communities are being wiped out.
The news here reports that strong winds are hampering firefighting as well. The UK is sending a brigade of firefighters to Athens.
It’s hard to imagine a whole community losing everything. In the TV news last night a reporter from California described how a small town, 8,000 inhabitants, had just been razed to the ground. Fortunately all the inhabitants had been forewarned and had managed to get out but anything they had not been able to carry with them had been destroyed. How on earth do you decide what save from the approaching flames? How do you begin to recover and rebuild your community? And until the fires are under control starting any kind of recovery is not even possible!
There are clearly worse things that a bit of rain.
Here’s another one - bubonic plague:-
“Surrounded by fires, parched by drought, and shut down by the pandemic – residents of California’s scenic South Lake Tahoe thought they’d endured everything.
That was until this week, when the US Forest Service announced it was closing several popular sites after discovering bubonic plague in the chipmunk population.
The federal agency announced this week that “based on positive plague tests” in the rodent population around hiking areas, it would close the well-trafficked Taylor Creek Visitor Center and nearby Kiva Beach through Friday.”
Apparently bubonic plague is not unusual among the animals of the Sierra Nevada and surrounding region. Someone from the Lake Tahoe basin management unit said, “It’s something that visitors need to take precautions about, but it’s not something that they need to worry about.” And plague in humans is now actually very treatable. Symptoms to watch for include sudden fever and chills, headache and muscle aches.
It all sounds rather biblical though: all around the world we have fire, floods and now plague - as if a pandemic was not enough!
The rain is rather cramping the family’s adventuring style though. A hike in the rain is not impossible but it’s not quite as pleasant. I feel rather sorry for the various groups of cyclists I saw out and about earlier today. It’s to be hoped that they managed to get their long rides in before the rain started.
Here’s something from The Campaign to rejoin Europe:-
“A representative of UK farming was on BBC radio 4 news this morning (Saturday 7th) answering a question as to whether the shortage of foreign veg and fruit workers (meaning lower UK harvest) would drive up prices. His answer was "no, unlikely". The reason? Supermarkets would compensate lack of UK produce by importing more! Another blessing of Brexit. Less UK home grown produce and another blow to farmers.”
But all is not lost.
Wales has its first day of “freedom” from Covid restrictions.
Team GB has been winning more medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment