A tiny bit of rain

It rained yesterday.  Just a bit.  A tiny bit.

It was quite fun the couple of times I had to head over to the Main Building, dodging soggy students and raindrops and puddles.

Then it was time to go home.

So my umbrella and I headed to the station (where there was a beautiful train, the Northern Belle, sat at the platform where the Manchester train usually is) and caught the train to Chesterfield.

There seemed to be a high level of chaos on the roads in and around the station in Chesterfield (and the Northern Belle pulled into the station while I was waiting for The Builder - in his guise of chauffeur - to come and collect me).

The Builder was quite late.  It had taken him nearly 45 minutes to get from our place to the station.  Usually it takes ten or fifteen.

The traffic on all the roads around us was at a standstill.  It seems that a couple of the major roads and at least one major intersection were flooded - and the bypass leading to the M1 was closed heading out of town so all that traffic was also on the town's roads.

It seemed pretty much impossible to get back to our place in anything like a sensible time, so we headed towards Sainsbury's thinking that we might lay in emergency supplies of wine and possibly even have something to eat while we waited for the traffic to clear.

We got to Sainsbury's at 18:33. The store is open until 23:00.  But they stop serving hot food at 18:30 (although there is nothing to tell you this, just that they serve main meals from11:30). So we didn't buy dinner there. We did buy emergency wine supplies though - and went out to find that the rain had pretty much gone away and that the traffic heading towards our place had apparently gone with it.  The traffic heading into town was still at a standstill but that didn't particularly bother us

So we went home and drank the wine and had leftover chicken, plums and soya sauce from the River Cottage Hugh's three good things book which I had made for Sunday lunch and which was extremely delicious.

It was a beautiful, beautiful morning when I left Chesterfield today. The sky was pink and promising in the east. The sun was shining in an early morning sort of a way.  Now, however, the clouds are back and the sky is threatening and gloomy and lots more rain is forecast.  I, however, will not be on the train this evening.  I have the car with me.  And I won't be heading home during peak hour traffic.  For, after a hiatus of 9 months, I am going back to my Japanese classes this evening.  Wish me luck!!!