Yesterday at work went fine. I found plenty to do, putting the library back in order, but I had to wait to tackle many tasks because a series of training sessions for new teachers was going on right beside my desk. I couldn't very well bang around with book carts or noisily unload boxes. I did manage to get my computer up and running, at least.
At lunch I went and picked up the rescued slides I'd had scanned. They came out great, so that will be a blog post soon.
The real excitement came during my walk home at around 3 p.m. It was raining when I left school, but it was manageable rain. I had an umbrella. I could handle it.
As I neared our flat, it began coming down harder. The gutters were running like rivers and drops were pounding the pavement. I was getting soaked despite my umbrella. I couldn't seem to step anywhere that didn't involve putting my foot into at least an inch of water.
Finally, outside our front door, it looked like this:
Crazy rain! Insane rain!
You'll notice the picture and sound both suffer in that video -- that's because my phone got drenched. (It's fine, though.)
Look how pounded-down our poor petunia was! It hasn't recovered yet. But hey -- don't get me wrong. I was thrilled, and the earth in our garden seemed to soak it all up readily. We didn't have a bit of standing water afterwards. (Unlike some parts of London, which experienced flooding -- some pretty interesting video at that link.)
We had the same rain last Monday when I HAD to go out and cross the main road to catch a bus on the opposite side, so I'm waiting to cross between traffic and of course the gutters were lakes, so passing cars sent up six foot geysers of water which landed on me, then I had to step into the "lakes" to cross the road. I arrived at my destination completely drenched with squishy feet and on the way home the sun came out and all the gutters were completely dry. My sneakers were finally dry this morning so I could wear them again. but heck! It's only water, right?
ReplyDeleteHooray...yes we got that rain too! It was torrential at times and went on for more than an hour.
ReplyDeleteI can hear your mother calling from way back when..."Stephen! Stephen! Come in out of the rain you silly boy! You'll get soaked!"
ReplyDeleteTorrential, but I bet it smelled wonderful. So welcome, finally.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't get it that bad here but I was still worried about my full out roses getting battered.
ReplyDeleteBriony
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I'm so glad your return to work was okay! Summer break goes by in a flash, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteA decent washdown! That will clear out a lot of dust
ReplyDeleteI would be thrilled to have such a rain happen here.
ReplyDeleteSigh, we are still waiting for a drop. Is it time to clear the gutters (downpipes) at your house?
ReplyDeleteFirst no rain, and then almost too much rain. Mother Earth is having a laugh.
ReplyDeleteNot THAT'S a rain!
ReplyDeleteWe seem to do deluge type rain events here (mid-Atlantic) on a regular basis in summertime.
ReplyDeleteI did see that Paris was hit with heavy rain, too, along with 65mph winds. Saw a video of Parisian cafe tables and chairs flying down the street. Feast or famine with rain this summer.
That's a nice hard rain. Glad you got it. Wish we would. The news put up a drought map that goes all across the lower western half of the country. Yay us.
ReplyDeleteYour garden was thrilled to get that good soaking rain! It was funny how you stood in the rain to take your video - getting more wet before you ducked into the doorway!
ReplyDeleteYears ago I sunk my minivan when I drove through what I thought was a shallow puddle (it wasn't) and my van stalled in the water. The vehicle had to be totaled! Since then I do hate to drive in a heavy rain!
Weather seems to be nothing but extremes lately.
ReplyDeleteWow, that rain is really coming down. Those video clips from the city were amazing, water everywhere. It looks like nature is trying to make up for that long dry spell all at once.
ReplyDeleteWe had some of that rain last week but haven't since. We need a good storm again. Today is supposed to be 95 degrees. Ugh. Glad your first day back went well!
ReplyDeleteOh the sound of that rain coming down is so wonderful. I hope we get to hear it some time here in California.
ReplyDeleteI understand them needing your space for their training sessions, but I hope you have plenty of time to get the library ready. After all, you have a job to do, too!
ReplyDeleteWe're getting rain this morning. :)
Oh my, that was a "gully washer." I hope all the dry areas that have been drought ridden got some relief from it
ReplyDeleteYou want refreshing? Ok, then, refreshing it is- lucky for you to live on a hill rather than a valley.
ReplyDeleteYou could pretend you were in Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.
ReplyDeleteYay for rain! Boo for people meeting right beside your desk. That would have been very annoying to me. Ha!
ReplyDeleteThat ought to do wonders for the garden!
ReplyDeleteThat's certainly a pounding rain. The kind that causes flooding. I remember a similar rain one year when my kids were still in school. It started when they were on the way home at lunch. There was not a dry stitch of clothing on them!
ReplyDeleteRiver: That sounds like a dramatic journey! But yeah, only water. Everything dries out.
ReplyDeleteFrances: I'm glad you finally got rain too!
YP: She wouldn't have called me a "silly boy." She would have called me an idiot.
Boud: It smelled wonderful and it sounded wonderful and I didn't mind the torrents at all.
Briony: We have some roses blooming in the back garden but they seem to have survived!
Jennifer: It really does. Teachers aren't off as long as some people think. There's always a lot of work to be done before and after summer, even when students aren't around.
GZ: Yes! And hopefully wash the bugs off some of our plants.
Ed: I was thrilled and I hope it happens again!
Sabine: Probably. To my knowledge they've never been cleared, and you can clearly see they were overwhelmed by all that water.
Bob: We are living in a time of extremes!
Ms Moon: A toad-strangler, for sure!
Mary: Oh, I didn't hear that about Paris! Interesting that Sabine hasn't seen anything in Germany, though. We used to regularly get rain like this in Florida in the summer but it's unusual for here.
Ellen: I didn't realize you were in drought too, that your dry spell was that bad.
Ellen D: I suffer for my art! LOL! When I was a kid my mom made the same mistake and her car had to be towed out of a deep puddle. We kept it, though. It never smelled right afterwards.
Red: That's true. Like politics!
Sharon: I wish we'd get a few days of slow, soaking rain. That's what we really need.
Margaret: Ugh! That was us last week. Our temps are more comfortable now, though.
Robin: It's always a nice sound!
Kelly: I think we'll be able to get everything done. Compared with past years there's not as much to do this time around.
Barbara: I'm sure it helped some, but the papers say we're still in a state of drought. Apparently that's not changing.
Linda Sue: Absolutely. I am often glad we're on high ground.
Tasker: Les Parapluies de West Hampstead! (I love that movie.)
Bug: It happened again yesterday! Some people were sitting ON my desk! LOL!
Debby: It will help, but we really need a slow, soaking rain.
Jenny-O: We had flood warnings before this rain, because the ground is so hard it couldn't easily be absorbed. Some places DID flood, particularly in Cornwall.
That is some powerful rain. Frightening video of drivers in London. But oh your happy garden.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! That's some mega rain! I'm glad your phone survived! Bet it felt awfully good to be home!
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