Now where I live it was certainly wet but we avoided any serious flooding. Unlike many other parts of the country. I lost count of how many times we heard that "a month's worth of rain fell in a single day". That's a lot of rain. And earlier in the, er, summer, there was also a spectacular irony in a number of areas around Britain where people found themselves under hosepipe bans, whilst watching a river meander through their living room.
And it wasn't just the physical effects of all the rain and flooding. Psychologically, us poor Brits were suffering too. Day after day of dark clouds, driving rain and decidedly chilly temperatures was beginning to make us feel rather depressed. Summer is always much anticipated here and to find out that one week in April looked like being our entire summer, was pretty hard to take. A bit like expecting a new iPad for Christmas and instead, receiving a box of haemorrhoid cream.
It turns out that the jetstream (that ribbon of fast-flowing air that zips around the world up in the troposphere) was to blame. It was stuck south of the UK and was dragging cold air down from the Arctic, which was causing all the horrendous weather. Bastard. Well the good news is that the jetstream has stopped behaving like a recalcitrant child and has finally shunted itself back up north. Oh joy. Joy like you can't imagine.
Two weeks ago, it was a slamming down with rain and the temperature was an abysmal 14 degrees Centigrade (or 57 degrees Fahrenheit). Today, as I sit in the garden writing this, it is sunny with blue skies and a thoroughly perfect 26C (79F).
Summer has arrived and so have my happy feet.
