Having watched and listened
to the weather forecasts for the last ten days or so there have been warnings
that the nice sunny days that we have been enjoying were coming to an abrupt
end. Temperatures will tumble and there will be snow and sleet. One forecaster yesterday said that we should
get out the warm coats, hats and scarves that we had packed away for the summer
because we would need them today, and last night just before we went to bed,
another one of them told us to expect a very cold day today. There were pieces
of film showing that in northern parts of the country snow was already falling.
So Steve and I slid under the winter duvet, that we still have not packed away,
and thought for sure that we could not get a ride in today. Below is an image of Littlehampton in January 1963 thanks to Len Barrett of the Bygone Littlehampton FB page. River Arun frozen over.
I woke up a 6am, which is
late for me but then I had sat in bed and read my book for longer than I should
have last night. Traipsing out to put the kettle on, I thought I was seeing
things when through the kitchen window I saw the brightest blue sky that you
could ever hope for. So much for the snow and sleet I thought. I went up the
stairs to my sewing table and there was sunshine casting a glow in that window
which is north facing. Setting up some silks thread lengths ready for a sewing session
that would keep me quiet and let Steve sleep a little longer, since he was
working later last evening unloading a truck that had not arrived when promised,
and Steve is too nice to let them wait until morning as has occasionally
happened to us on our travels around Europe I the past. Below the old Windmill.
When he did wake up he
dragged himself up the wooden hill to say good morning to me and asked where
the snow was. I told him it must have taken a left turn Milton
Keynes and gone off somewhere else. This meant that we could go
out on our bikes for a while after all. I checked on Accuweather to see if we
on the coast of West Sussex
were in a freak sun spot whilst two feet of snow was falling in Horsham, just
north of us.
Accuweather for
Littlehampton stated; 36 degrees slightly cloudy, getting a bit warmer later
with possibilities thunderstorms in the afternoon. You have to stop at this
point and say; Heavens Bless the people of the UK because we know that Sky News,
ITV and even the veritable BBC and of course the common man, haven’t got a clue
what the weather is going to be like. You must also think at the same time,
that if you cannot even rely on Aunty Beeb to do a simple task like the forecast
the weather, then how on earth can we trust politicians to tell the truth. What
will happen to the world if Marine Le Pen ends up leading France and has to
talk to President Trump and they both have to be nice to who ever we; the great
British public vote into power in just a few weeks time. I predict fisticuffs
at the first summit meeting and I think that Marine Le Pen probably packs the
biggest punch and would get hers in first.
So putting thoughts of world
power aside, bike ride it was, but we did as we were told and dragged winter
tights on over our bike shorts and a thin extra layer underneath a thermal top
and a lightweight coat. I went to the gloves bag that I had tucked away and
found a warm pair to make sure that my fingers did not drop off whilst I was
out riding around the Willowhayne Estate.
Not that I am admitting that it was
as cold as we had been warned, but my first tears rolled down my cheek not a
quarter of a mile from home. It was frickin’ freezin’, and I was glad of the
tights. However, it was THE most beautiful day that we have had this month and
when we got down to Sea Road the clarity of vision was utterly amazing and the
new Rampion Wind Farm looked miles closer that on any other occasion.
The
massive platform was crystal clear; in fact the bloke operating the crane was
eating what I was sure was a Twix but Steve disagreed and said it was a Mars
bar. In the opposite direction the Isle of Wight looked like Moby Dick come to
watch the regatta and there was a bloke in his early fifties wearing his
regimental tie, picking up doggie doos and having a quite smoke beneath the
trees on Selsey Bill.
Every ride we have done in
the past few weeks has held a head on wind in three of the four main directions!
How can that be possible I ask? Only if some evil super power, makes us the
focus of his or her attention for the duration of our ride, of course.
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