Amble Day 2 - Noah and History of Amble

The day started very early, possibly we were woken by the rain.  It was certainly going to be the main feature of today.  The forecast for the week can be summarised as wet and cold. So it was on with the 'full wet' kit and out to the grass, which is a couple of minutes away.  Brody did what he had to do, and we returned to the dry.
0.61 miles

The rain continued. Part way through the morning, we took a walk into town for some shopping.  There is a local co-op, but it is very small.  In the town centre there is a larger supermarket.  Jo spent ages in there, having retrieved more change from the check-out machine than she should have, and trying to sort it out.
1.61 miles

The rain continued.  This is how it must have been in Noah's day.  The rain seemed to lighten, so we went out again.  Still in 'full wet' kit, and walked around the harbour and looked at some of the historic sites.  It didn't stop raining. 

A front garden in Amble

We booked a table at the Fish Shack for dinner.
1.11 miles

The rain continued.   Around 4pm it genuinely did stop, so we took another walk, following another part of the history trail and ending on a beach to the south of Amble.
2.28 miles

Just before 6pm, we left to go to the restaurant for dinner.  The menu was very appealing, and the food very good.

The Fish Shack, on the harbour, Amble

Now thats more like it - SNOW

If you're going to have snow, then at least you should have a proper covering. Something like two to three inches here (five to seven cm). The smudges are snow flakes on the window. The whole country is at a standstill of course. Well not quite! Although the schools are closed, the trains appear to be running but limited, and the major roads are clear. Its not enough to say that tonights tutor group meeting is off, but its too much to say definitely on.
There was a thaw during the middle of the day, but as I blog (~4pm) it is very cold, and looks like its starting to freeze. This is more like the sort of winters I am used to. Tomorrow would have been my Dad's birthday. We always used to expect snow on the ground, if not coming from the sky, on his birthday.
The children have been enjoying themselves on their unexpected day off, there have been a few snowball fights, but so far no snowmen.
More picture here look in the Snow Album.

Candlemass, Groundhog Day

It is officially the middle of winter, both these events -Candlemass - when the candles are blessed for the coming year, and Groundhog day mark the turning point in the winter weather - allegedly!

"Candlemass day! Candlemass day! Half our fire and Half our hay.

It was a pleasant 10-11 Celsius, and reasonable bright at lunch time when we went for a longer than usual walk to meet a friend and get a sandwich. How appropriate then that Global Warming is now official! With a 90% probability that its man-made. Perhaps that is a better indicator of future weather than either the groundhog:

If the groundhog casts a shadow - six more weeks of winter, if not an early spring

or this:

"If candlemass day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight.
But if candlemass day brings cloud and rain
Winter is gone and won't come again"

In these days we don't have to rely on hay, or fire wood, or worry about the supply of candles. We just switch the central heating on, and enjoy the comfort of our semi-tropical homes.
Things have got to change - we said at lunch time - rather flippantly describing a time when man once again has to rely on God and the seasons, and the stone mason is Mr High-tech. Perhaps they do, perhaps it would be better if it was the people who changed.