These is an old saying that goes something like: ‘Oak before Ash, you’re in for a splash; Ash before Oak, you’re in for a soak.’ Whether this is in any way useful in forecasting the weather to come this summer is a moot point. But it is understood to reflect the weather in the winter and early spring before the leaves do open. Now, this year, the Oaks have very […]
Once more, the weather disrupts my plans it seems. I was supposed to be teaching the first weekend of my course ‘A Year of Herbs’ today. But the season, and the weather has conspired to cast uncertainty on everyone’s arrangements and it is now a toss-up between running the course but at 11AM, or cancelling all together. It all depends on what the weather does. Yes, the full power of […]
As I write this post, I sit up late into the night – like I do many nights. But this night is different. I am listening to the sound of icy snow and hail thrash against my window, driven by a strong easterly wind. Normally, I would find the idea of snowy weather highly exciting – but not this time. This time, I find the weather to be threatening, worrying, […]