As is customary with the British psyche the main topic of conversation at the moment is the weather. Heavy rainfall on already sodden ground has caused major flooding and many people are enduring damage to their properties for the second time this year. The Environment Agency has said that work on flood defences since 2007 has prevented the damage from affecting large numbers of people but that's little consolation to those who are suffering.

   Whilst we can all have sympathy for the flood victims, I am still amazed by the fact that plans will be submitted to build more housing estates on flood plains - that's just asking for trouble. A phrase commonly heard after any major disaster is that "Lessons will be learned" but it doesn't seem that they are learned quickly enough. And how often do you hear "It's the hottest/coldest/wettest/driest since .....whenever" which only goes to prove it has been this ... whatever... previously and yet we still get the same thing happening over and over again. Obviously there are still a lot more lessons to be learned.

It's Closer Than You Think

Whilst we were in Derby last week I stopped at an information point in the bus station to see if there were any new leaflets that I hadn't seen before. I picked up a couple concerning Denby Pottery and Haddon Hall. Both were advertising events in December and "Christmas" was a common word on both leaflets. I know I've often said that I think Christmas starts far too early but as I write this, two of my grandsons are making Christmas cakes. They have to be done in October so that they can mature and brandy be added at intervals during November ready for the icing and decorating just before Christmas.
   The weather last week was anything but Christmas-like being dull and mild with a hint of drizzle in the air. Saturday was the exception as a cold blast straight from the Arctic blew away the clouds and sent a shiver down the spine before returning to damp and dreary weather today. It did mean though that the trees showed up really well on Saturday (see picture) in their autumn colours but looking at those leaflets again that I picked up in Derby, I've just noticed a line on the one for Haddon Hall. It says "Christmas is closer than you think" - how true! And I'll tell you something else, with the cakes now baking in the oven and the aroma emanating from the kitchen, it's even beginning to smell like Christmas.

Cancelled Again

Ilkeston's Carnival was cancelled a few weeks ago due to the bad weather in what became the wettest June since records began. Early last week news filtered through that the proposed Steam Rally at Elvaston scheduled for this weekend also became a victim of the weather as did Awsworth's "Party on the Rec." On Friday a torrential downpour when it was forecast that a month's rainfall would drop on the East Midlands in one day caused Derbyshire's evening T20 cricket match against local rivals Nottinghamshire to be called off before lunch. Add to that Ilkeston FC's pre-season friendly at home to Skegness together with their Family Fun Day plus the Ashfield Festival in Nottinghamshire.

I'm expecting a government announcement any time now that summer is cancelled for 2012. We can only hope it improves by the start of the Olympics otherwise the only events possible will be water sports - at all the venues!

Choices

As I have written before, some weeks it's a problem finding somewhere different to go for the Latest Images page at Ilkeston Cam and other weeks are just the opposite with a multitude of events from which to choose. This last week fell into the latter category. I could have gone to Nottingham on Thursday for the Olympic Torch Relay or Derby on Friday for the next stage in the relay. Both those events would have meant an early morning or late evening outing so we opted for a daytime trip to see the torch in Matlock instead.

At any other time I would probably have chosen the "Swing Back to the Forties" event at the Erewash Museum again for the latest images which was advertised as part of the ongoing Ilkeston Festival. The Forties event coincided with Armed Forces Day which has also been observed in Wollaton Park over the weekend. At a push I might have featured some scenes from the horrendous weather and storms that swept across the East Midlands during the week. So I really was spoilt for choice - but next week, now that's a different story but I'm sure something will turn up.

The Longest Day

It was the northern hemisphere's summer solstice last week which is generally referred to as being the "longest day". This actually means it's the longest day of sunlight whilst south of the equator it's the shortest. Some say that it also marks the start of summer but given that some places in the north of England had the equivalent of a month's rainfall on Friday night and Saturday morning, I don't think there will be many celebrating the new season. Once again communities have come together to help and support each other.

Monday June 25th of course was the midpoint between Christmases and means that the nights will now begin to draw in and we will be closer to Christmas Day 2012 than Christmas Day 2011. Now doesn't that make you feel better? No, I didn't think so - but as we're now officially in summer, we'd better make the most of it. Besides Wimbledon has started and that guarantees good weather doesn't it? I'm sure we had bad summer weather when I was young but I tend to remember only the sunny days.

Cancelled Carnival

There was huge disappointment all round this weekend as the Annual Carnival had to be cancelled. It was not surprising really as the strong winds and heavy rainfall during the preceding week had left puddles on the car park (left) at the recreation ground and the ground itself was waterlogged. It would have been folly to stage the carnival here.

I think it was last year the the Summer Happening on Victoria Park also had to be cancelled due to similar conditions. Not only is it disappointing for the general public when these things happen but it is even more so for the organisers and charities who would normally have benefited from the events.

The truth is though you can look elsewhere and always see someone worse off. For example this week in west Wales, people have been driven from their homes by flash floods but it is in the face of such tragedies that communities come together to help each other. The people of Wales will come back even stronger, Ilkeston will have another Carnival and communities will continue to thrive. Life will go on with or without the help of the government. And David Cameron thinks the "Big Society" is something he thought up. Come into the real world David; open your eyes and see what has been happening for years. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18387529

Spooky

Do you believe in coincidences? Well how spooky is this? As we were walking home from church this morning a car pulled up at the top of Market Street and the occupants were looking at the Cenotaph. The weather was atrocious with the rain teeming down and it really was not a day for sightseeing at all but the couple were in the area for a wedding celebration and having come all the way from Cheshire, were taking the opportunity to investigate some family history.
 

It transpired that the lady was the sister of the late character actor Derek Nimmo (1930-1999) and also related to Harry Tatham-Sudbury, the architect of many iconic buildings in Ilkeston, the Cenotaph being one of them. We were able to give directions to other places in the town that they wanted to see that Harry had designed and answer some of their questions. The lady was armed with a folder full of genealogical information and a number of sheets showing photographs that she had downloaded from the internet, photographs very familiar to myself as they came from the Town Walk on this site. Now what are the chances of that? Of all the people in Ilkeston, on a Sunday morning in the pouring rain, two people from Cheshire bumping into someone who had actually taken the photos of the places they were looking for. Now that's spooky!

Weather For Fools

I originally wrote the following on April 1st for the Ilkeston Cam website but forgot to copy it to Blogger.

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I thought I'd give you a rest this week from another pet peeve although there are several more that I could easily give voice to. There's plenty of time to return for a good whinge later so this week I'll turn my attention to something else.

After a week of really fine weather with relatively high temperatures for the time of year, the weather forecast today is for a drop to the seasonal average and even a slight possibility of snow tomorrow! Now I know that's it's April Fool's Day but can we really be expecting a return to scenes like this picture? I still maintain there's no such thing as global warming or as the experts are now calling it, climate change. I'm more inclined to believe my own theory of calendar slippage. I just hope that last week wasn't our summer and we are now moving into autumn. But no, it's still only spring and the falling temperatures will certainly be putting a spring in our step in the next few days. England must be one of the few places in the world where you can experience all four seasons in a few days!


To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. - George Santayana (1863 - 1952) 

Fog

Yesterday the danger was black ice but although it had disappeared today, the problem was that if any did remain we may not have seen it through the fog. It wasn't too bad on Bath Street but in other parts of town it was quite dense. More shops were open today even though it is traditionally half day closing on Wednesday and most of them had "Sale" signs plastered all over their windows. I suspect the picture being carried by this lady was a sale acquisition but the sunshine in her picture was the only brightness we saw all day.

Black Ice

A partial thaw and sleet and rain removed most of the snow that was still lying but in the town centre this caused streams of water to run from the Market Place and Lower Market Place towards Bath Street resulting in large swathes of black ice. One unfortunate lady whilst visiting the public conveniences became a victim and necessitated the calling of a paramedic closely followed by an ambulance to take her to hospital.

Severe

A severe weather warning was issued for the East Midlands and we did get some overnight snow but so far here in Ilkeston, we don't appear to have fared too badly although there could be more on the way. These youngsters however were taking advantage of what had fallen so far.

With last year's harsh winter, an average summer and an early start to the cold weather this November, I don't believe the news report yesterday that said this year has been the warmest on record since I don't know when!

A Grey Day

I went through a walk through the town centre this morning but there was not much to see - mainly due to the fog! The forecast said there would be some bright intervals but the fog could linger in some places and Ilkeston turned out to be one of those places. By 4 o'clock when the Friday afternoon rush was in full swing, it was already dropping dark and the fog was getting thicker. My mother-in-law used to call days like this one of those dark dismal days before Christmas and she wasn't wrong; it's been a really grey day from morning till night.

Frosty Mornings

An overnight frost and a misty morning was the prelude to a fresh bright autumn day that is so much more preferable to those dark dank dismal days that are also a feature of November. The fallen leaves on the lawn might prove to be an interesting picture but they also highlight the length of the grass and tell me that I perhaps should have given the grass one more mowing before putting the mower away for the year. It's too late to worry about it now though!

Armistice Day

All over the country today people stopped and stood in silence for two minutes at eleven o'clock to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day. Lost in their own thoughts and prayers as a mark of respect for those who gave their lives for our country, many places came to a standstill. Pictures on the TV news programmes have shown scenes from up and down the land and here is another one which differs slightly from those seen on the box. In Ilkeston it rained - in fact it absolutely chucked it down at 11 o'clock hence the spots on the camera lens despite my best efforts to keep it clear. Ten miutes later the sun was shining from a clearing sky!

Long Shadows

A much better day today and the wind has dropped temporarily but it is still cold. On what is expected to be the best day of the week a low sun in a cloudless sky produced some long shadows and this was early in the afternoon. Many of the trees are now leafless and although they are still lying on the ground, there's a distinct winter feeling all around. Strange to think that a fortnight ago we were still on British Summer Time while in just six weeks from now we'll have passed the shortest day.

Dancing Leaves

Well it dried for for a while after yesterday's downpour but the cold wind was still with us this morning and caused the leaves on the Market Place (and elsewhere) to swirl around eddying back and forth. It's obviously very difficult to catch the movement in a still image but I think this shot gives some impression of how they were dancing around.

What a Filthy Day!

Today was one of those days when you didn't go out unless you had to - and we had to! We had appointments this afternoon for flu jabs and we had intended to catch the bus part way and walk the rest to the surgery. The best laid plans and all that went by the wayside and we went in the car but while we were out we also took our son's dog for a walk. It was cold, wet and windy. By that I mean the weather not the dog. When we took her home she was cold and wet too, I'm not sure about the windy!

Blue Skies

When there's a spell of fine weather at this time of year it is often referred to as an Indian summer but whether the blue skies of this afternoon would fall into that category or not, I'm not sure. The clear blue heavens though just begged to be photographed and provided a pleasing backdrop to both the evergreen and deciduous trees. As the forecast for the rest of the week is grey cloud and light rain, I made the most of today to record the wide blue yonder for posterity.

It's also an excuse to continue yesterday's music theme with a few lines from Irving Berlin's classic song - "Blue skies, smiling at me, nothing but blue skies  do I see"

Misty Morning

We woke up today to a misty morning which cleared to a sunny afternoon but when walking up to the market about 10:30, I spotted numerous webs on the railings at the end of Chalons Way and the moisture in the atmosphere made them stand out especially against the passing traffic. Good job it's not Halloween yet or it would have been really spooky.

 

Sequence Broken

If you guessed today was going to be wet I'm afraid you were wrong since the sequence since the beginning of October was broken. A cloudy morning gave way to a bright sunny afternoon (see the picture below taken this afternoon shows) but it has stayed dry all day.

The picture also illustrates another example of surplus to requirements road signs. The "new" roundabout has been there for a number of years and one of the triangular signs is about "new" surfacing on the road. It begs the question how long does something have to be in existence before it is no longer deemed new? Maybe the signs will disappear after the government's review!