Weather
It’s raining again.
It is what I would call a typical Irish midsummer’s day – grey and wet.
It lacks two essential ingredients though – cold and wind.
Since we arrived here, we have had over two weeks of blazing sunshine. I am talking about days where it is just too fucking hot to go out. Not that that stops me. The skies were blue and the sun was like an open oven door. Unrelenting sunshine. And no wind.
A few days ago you bastards in Ireland grabbed yourselves an anti-cyclone and plonked it smack over Ireland. Did you make good use of it? No. You managed to squeeze a couple of fine days out of it, but then you spoilt if for yourselves by covering everything in cloud. In the meantime, the anti-cyclone [which you had absolutely no right to, I might add] was pushing all the bad weather my way.
Fortunately the French know how to dish out bad weather. You get a few spectacular thunderstorms, a spot of warm rain, no wind, and that is about it.
You have no idea how I fucking hate wind.
We went for a drive yesterday. It was a ‘bad weather’ day, in that the sky was mostly clouded over. The French acknowledged the foul weather by bringing rolled up jackets, just in case. We took a stroll around La Roque-Gageac, which is like a lot of places around here – built vertically instead of horizontally. Strange, but it works.
I actually took a photograph. It’s of some steps. It’s a little bit crooked because I took it in the middle of the road and there was a fucking big bus coming.
As you can see in the second picture, there are some dark spots on the road? Yes. I told you it was a ‘bad weather’ day and those are damp spots.
Afterwards we went onto another village for coffee where we sat outside in the warmth and enjoyed the smell of burning leaves in the distance. Very Autumnal.
Now that Ireland has had [and as usual, wasted] its anti-cyclone, the weather here is on the mend again. The forecast is for sunshine after tomorrow, but the temperatures are to be a bit lower – in the high twenties instead of the low thirties.
After all, it is Autumn.
I see the rain has stopped.
And it’s dead calm.
Anyone for a drive?
Watch out for the hornets Grandad. They are electronic drones released from the American Embassy in Paris.
They are trying to find out what confers elegance on a people. You watch, as soon as Langley have some conclusions on that France will be back on the Axis of Won’t Do What We Tell Them list and it’ll be all Freedom Flies- er, Fries and such again.
If you lived where I live where there never is any wind or breeze, other than the odd twister; you would welcome a good gale. Clears the sinuses.
I am curious about something, though GD, and I mean no offence. What do you actually do there for a month? Picturesque as it is, and I know the area, a month there would bore the shit out of me. I mean photos of steps. Come on! Is this why you keep up with politics in the homeland on a daily basis?
Captain Con – I thought America had finally seen sense and stopped telling the world what to do? And Langley had better come up with something a bit more robust, that can withstand a wee spray and a swatter?
TT – I never welcome a good gale, sinuses or not. What do I do all day? Lots. We go for drives, or just sit in the sun. Today we buggered over to Domme for the afternoon and had a meal there. When I’m not doing those, I go for walks and I am doing a lot of writing. The Buke won’t write itself, you know? And I think they are rather nice steps.
Your photos illustrate how people can use a locally abundant resource – stones – to create a cosy beauty. In Ireland in recent years a lot of nice stone houses have been erected around the countryside. I am always amazed when travelling in continental Europe at how they constructed medieval towns and villages around the contours of hills. Put up several more photos before you finish your French holiday.
Welcome Wally! One of the great attractions of this area is the building. The French have also taken a very strict attitude to development so the old architecture is preserved throughout the region. There ain’t no bungalow blitz here!! Unfortunately, photographs don’t do it justice, but I do my best.
Stay tuned.
Love summer storms . . cool the air and the lightening’s spectacular . . .beautiful part of the world you’re in though I’m really enjoying your pics. Sorry but commenting is still very slow from the antipodes. I share your hatred of wind. September is a very windy month for us. Messy, shit falling off trees. I hate it.