Weatherproof

You'd normally expect to see dust covers on library books but the whole of Ilkeston's Library is covered at present. I'm not sure what's going on under the covers but no doubt all will be revealed in due course. In the meantime, as we've had more than our fair share of wet weather this summer, it looks as though the library has donned waterproofs.


Back in April this year we were warned that there was a 65% chance of a heatwave and we should look forward to a 'barbecue summer'. That 65% chance turned out to be 100% wrong and although there was one hot spell and there have been plenty of fine days, the original forecast was not that good. Later in July it was revised to say that the unsettled weather would continue until the middle of August so we await the next couple of weeks with bated breath. Weather forecasting by its very nature cannot be an exact science but when these short term forecasts for a couple of months ahead are often incorrect, it's no surprise that people are sceptical about the dire warnings of climate change and the impact it will have 40 or 50 years from now. And have you noticed that the term 'global warming' has been dropped in favour of 'climate change'? Of course the climate is changing and the globe is warming - it has been doing since the last ice age! The human race may not be helping the situation and it will take a global change to make a difference and it may take those 40 or 50 years to achieve it. I'm not saying we should ignore the evidence the scientists put before us - but it would be nice if now and again all the prophesies were not so doom-laden.

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation. Kin Hubbard (1868 - 1930)