Scattered Showers.

  When we first bought this French house over twenty years ago, one of the first things we appreciated was that France had a climate, not just weather. You could count on the conditions at a given period of the year. From a rather late Spring round mid-April, the heat would gradually arrive, the rain would more or less be a thing of the past, time for swimming and sun-bathing if you were British or for closing the shutters and a sieste if you were French. Summer dress was sandals underpants and shorts, add a T shirt for formal occasions. A picnic or barbecue could be planned far ahead without the Engish proviso `If it doesn`t rain`. End of August,the fine weather would build up over three days to a spectacular thunderstorm, which would clear the air and the cycle would repeat. September, all would settle down again for an Indian Summer, often lasting until late October. The grass would die off and go brown from June and the mower could be retired for the year.
   Well, I`m sorry to relate that conditions have changed over the last two or three years, becoming more unsettled, more English. Mind you, from what I have seen on Facebook, You British stay-at-homes would be delighted even with our degraded `climate`, it`s not that bad, plenty of sun between the showery days. I`ve just watched a news item on French TV with Northern French camp site owners bemoaning empty windswept sites and even pictures of rain lashing the beaches around Bordeaux. It`s been cooler, too, shorts are not the default setting this year. Only the next item, dealing with a terrible heat wave in the U S stopped me from announcing the end of Global Warming on this blog!
    Still and all, it`s not all bad. For swimming addicts, it`s not ideal and I feel sorry for those whose fortnight holiday has been less than idyllic. However there`s something to be said for cooler nights when you can sleep comfortably without the fan turning, and afternoons when the sun doesn`t drive tou indoors. Watering is one chore that has not been too arduous, but the weeds and the grass have Taken up the slack!
  I suppose that the best solution to climate change is to enjoy what you`ve got, easier to do if you`re retired, of course. I can thoroughly recommend that!
   Bye for now, got to wake up Kim and have another coffee. Must remember to get some more fuel for the strimmer...