It doesn’t take much to get the newshounds stirring around here, and I suppose yesterday’s downpour constitutes news. I’d just done some washing, of course, and all the windows and shutters were open, as it’s still not cold enough to close them. Then I looked out of the window and saw this…
Looks like it’s blowing in from the north, I thought, and it was, more or less directly from that direction. Better bring the washing in. No sooner had I done that, than the rain started. Better close the bedroom window. That done, it was raining harder, and the wind whipped up a little. Better close the office shutters. They’re a bit ropey and bang around at the slightest breath. I was on my way when I thought to check the living room windows which face directly north, only to find the window shelf already covered with water which had started to drip onto the floor. The balcony door area was the same, so a quick dash to the kitchen for tea towels as the scenery began to disappear.
Towels down, the shutters needed to be closed, so windows open, a blast of rain and wind later, and the north side of the house was protected. Then the kitchen window started to rattle, so I nipped along there to close that (faces west), and all was dry. Ah, but the window looking onto the courtyard (east), already starting to drip, so open that, another blast, close the shutters, and all was sealed. Including where I had repaired the gaps between tiles and sloping roof over the porch, except that was still leaking a bit. And then there was no view from the front of the house at all.
But on the inside, everything was dry, apart from the towels which remained to soak up the aftermath of a few minutes of rain. It was heavy, I’ll give it that, but the plants probably enjoyed it. A little rain makes the paving stones shine, the air smells fresher, and it tops up people’s sternas, so, all for the good.
In other news… My next book is out and you can find the details here: The Delamere Files – a series of Victorian mysteries.
