The Weather pundits had been forecasting rain on Friday for quite some time, so the fact that it was wet came as no great surprise. It wasn't really even very surprising that it was VeryWetIndeed - enough weather alerts had been issued that we should all have been aware and prepared.
But by heavens it was wet. It rained and rained and rained and rained. And it wasn't just persistent drizzle. It RAINED! Poor old Hebden Bridge was flooded - again. The Don tried hard to escape from its banks in Sheffield. Meadowhall, which had been quite seriously flooded in 2007, now has flood gates, which it closed. Fortunately The Don didn't flood - but it was quite a close thing. The Cliffhanger festival in Graves Park was cancelled. The Sharrow Festival was cancelled. Pretty much all the outdoor events in Sheffield over the weekend were cancelled.
The Weather Dogs then turned their attention to the south of England and did their damnedest to wash away Dorset. The River Cottage Members' Summer Party was cancelled on Saturday evening (it ran on the Friday before the rains came) because all the paths around the site had turned into raging rivers. The Dorset Seafood Festival had to be put back a day. Back in the Midlands, the F1 people at Silverstone told people who had tickets to the Saturday racing not to come. It was quite significantly wet around England.
Two Anglican bishops, who really should know better, have declared that the floods are a serious rebuke from God who is clearly very angry about proposals that Parliament should legislate in favour of Gay Marriage and that the church should legislate in favour of Women Bishops. I would refer them back to their bibles, but to be honest I can't be bothered. In any case, everyone knows it is the responsibility of the Weather Dogs who obviously heard everyone whinging back in the spring that we haven't had any decent proper rainfall for nearly two years and please could we have some - and obliged. People should be very careful what they wish for!!
In the meantime, the butter churning activity at Bishops' House was not cancelled on Saturday morning. And The Builder and I managed to make it from Tupton to Norton Lees in Sheffield to take our turn opening the house for the morning. Around 20 people came in and lots of children went away beaming and clutching pats of butter. We had quite a good morning. We went home via the supermarket. Mostly, on Saturday, it wasn't raining much in Sheffield or Chesterfield. Just the odd shower. Like the one we ran into on our way to the dairy for some milk. We could see it as we drove along. Just over there. Looking a bit fierce. And then we arrived where it was. And it was like driving into a solid wall of water. I have never sat in an observation deck behind Niagara Falls. But if there is such a deck, and if Niagara Falls were in full spate, that is what I imagine it would look like. It was AMAZING! Fortunately it was also short lived otherwise I could have easily seen Tupton being flooded :-S
The water companies and the Environment Agency have now declared that the drought is over and all water restrictions in England have been lifted. If you wish to use your hose to water your garden, you now can do (we always could, but that's by the by). I am hopeful that the Weather Dogs will decide that we have had enough rain for the moment and turn it off. Well, maybe not hopeful. But it would be nice.
Sunset from Hill House, Mount Helen. February 2024
