Weather

 

Why Weather?

Well it’s what we all do isn’t it? Talk about the weather I mean.
for example when you meet your neighbour you invariably say,

"Hi there Mrs Smith, bit nippy out today isn't it?" or "Did you hear the thunder last night?"

The weather plays a large part of all of our lives. Well certainly here in the UK anyway.
This shows itself prominently in holiday postcards. I feel with social media and the like the art of postcard writing is dying out, I hardly see them anymore, I never send them or receive them.  Chances are you'll be back home anyway by the time they get to their destination. 

When my Uncle Jim (James Mason) died back in 1996, I inherited a huge stash of postcards sent to him and my Grandma from various friends and members of the family. (Uncle Jim used to live with Grandma.) There must be at least 50 or so postcards. They are from the 1950’s through to the 1970’s. They had received them, read them and then stuck them in a drawer , some were even addressed to me and some from me from when I was little. I was reading them out to Martin my husband, I find them fascinating and do you know what? Nearly all of them mentioned the weather. ‘Sunny here, you’d love it’, or ‘raining and wet but having a good time’, etc.

"conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative"

(Oscar Wilde)              

I don't think Oscar Wilde really meant that most of the English are boring but why is it that we are so obsessed with the weather? Is it because our weather in the UK is so unpredictable? For instance in sunny countries you don’t have to worry how the day will be as you know it’s going to be sunny, all day, You can make plans. In snowy countries you know it’s going to be cold and snowy all day, you can make plans. But here, you don’t know what it’s going to do.  It could be sunny in April or it may rain every day. So you make plans anyway and hope for the best, you try to predict but you also need to make contingency plans just in case. More plans, ...so much planning.

Forecast

The Blue Dot is us

When making plans for any outdoor activity it helps if you have a good forecast. I have at least three apps on my phone. All of which are pretty useless at times and I get a better idea just by looking out of the window. Martin swears by Willyweather, and no, that is not an euphemism. I use the met office app. Anyhow, in the end I think they are all the same and the weather can often turn out to be nothing like what is predicted.  Cornwall is quite hard to forecast as it's quite a thin Duchy to cover. The TV weatherman David Braine on our local BBC Spotlight news programme does his best and is very nice and always gives a little wave at the end of the show, the wave is a 'thing', he can't stop, he forgot once and there were complaints but so far he hasn't denied any hurricanes, unlike Michael Fish who in the late 1980's on national BBC weather, categorically denied a hurricane was on it's way when a viewer had rung up and asked. A hurricane that incidentally destroyed half the trees in Kent and reduced Seven Oaks to a mere five.

Storm Goretti

For those of you who don't live in Cornwall or the UK for that matter, last Thursday (8th Jan) we had an government alert alarm sound on our phone. An unearthly loud siren noise blaring from my mobile, made me jump. The alert was  a RED warning of a (danger to life) storm on it's way that would hit Cornwall overnight.  On the TV David Braine showed us the swirling mass of chaos approaching and showed the path was going to come up all along Cornwall. 

 As darkness fell, the wind started to pick up. We searched the house for torches and camping lamps to put  nearby for when the electricity inevitably goes off.

We look outside into the darkness we could hear the sea, it's angry waves crashing against the shore and I was a bit concerned for the front row of houses beneath us and also for the centre of Looe that often gets flooded anyway at high tides.

The TV reports of the storm made the main UK news. We were getting messages from friends and family saying, 'Stay Safe.' and such like.  Around 19.30hrs the electric went off. It was a bit exciting but by the time I reached for the camping lamp next to me it came back on again. I felt cheated. The TV flickered back to life and everything returned to normal. For us anyway, the storm just passed us by on its way northward, for us the wind died down and we went to bed and had a very comfortable night, and woke up the next morning to calm wind and seas. Inland though it was a bit different, many people were without electricity and some were cut off by falling trees making many roads impassable. Luckily enough we had a good supply of toilet rolls so didn't panic.
Schools were closed and people were advised against unnecessary travel. Fine by me, but it begs the question is it all due to climate change?

Climate Change: The Planet’s Not-So-Hot Sense of Humour

Climate change might not sound like the funniest topic, but if the planet could talk, it would probably be cracking some sarcastic jokes right now—mostly about how humans turned up the thermostat and then acted surprised when things got sweaty.

The Earth’s Midlife Crisis

Think of Earth as a middle-aged friend going through a crisis. It’s overheating, the ice caps are melting faster than ice cream in July, and the weather’s mood swings are getting out of hand. One minute it’s snowing in April, the next it’s 40°C in October. The planet’s basically saying, “I’m fine,” while clearly not being fine.

The Great Carbon Diet (That Nobody’s Sticking To)

Everyone’s talking about cutting carbon emissions like it’s a new diet trend. “This year, I’m going low-carbon!” But just like a gym membership in January, enthusiasm fades by March. Meanwhile, the atmosphere’s getting thicker with CO₂ than a crowded lift after a crossfit workout.

Fashionably Late to the Green Party

Renewable energy is the life of the party—solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars—but most of us showed up late. Fossil fuels have been hogging the dance floor for centuries, and now we’re awkwardly trying to squeeze in with our reusable straws and bags for life, pretending we’ve been eco-conscious all along.

The Weather’s Having a Meltdown

The weather is now like a reality show; dramatic, unpredictable, and slightly terrifying. Hurricanes are stronger, wildfires are wilder, and droughts are drier. The weather forecast should just say, “Expect the unexpected, and maybe keep an inflatable raft handy.”

The Blame Game

Politicians blame corporations, corporations blame consumers, and consumers blame politicians. Meanwhile, the planet’s in the corner, quietly melting, whispering, “Maybe everyone could just… stop burning stuff?”

Small Steps, Big Impact

Despite the chaos, there’s hope. People are planting trees, biking to work, and inventing meat that doesn’t moo. Every small action adds up—like recycling that one coke can or convincing a friend to ditch plastic water bottles. It’s not glamorous, but it’s progress.

The Punchline

Climate change isn’t a joke, but sometimes humour helps the medicine go down. The planet’s giving us plenty of warning signs—and a few sarcastic eye rolls along the way. If we can laugh about it, maybe we can also do something about it. After all, Earth’s the only home we’ve got, and it’s definitely worth cooling down.