Worcestershire, U.K. 1965

Some time in 1965 I was taking an evening  drive with a friend in the lovely English County of Worcestershire.

 We saw lightning and heard thunder in the middle distance.  I asked my friend to pull over so that we could enjoy the storm.  She was happy to do so.
Lightning in Worcestershire  (stock photo).

Like many children  I had been afraid of thunderstorms as a child. Mum tried to allay my fears by saying that the thunder was the noise of Angels delivering coal to heaven.  (I never thought to ask why the coal was going to heaven and not to hell, where it would be more needed!)


 By 1965 I had learned to enjoy the storms.

 Now that I live in Florida (since 2006) I learn to anticipate and enjoy the storms which pass through this part of the State in the rainy season  (June - Nov).  When weather patterns are normal they come through most days in mid to late afternoon.

 I breathe a sigh of relief.  Our rivers, aquifers and retention ponds are being filled. Trees, flowers, shrubs and lawns rejoice.  We are unlikely to face a drought.

 A mother and father of storms came through this afternoon.  Dark clouds, heavy rain, noisy thunder, beautiful lightning.  Oh bliss!

 We are used to the summer heat and humidity, but truth to be told,  it's been cooler in many parts of Florida than in New York and New England.  That enabled Zion and I to have four long walks before 10:00 a.m.

 This afternoon's storm (it's still rumbling around at 7:00 p.m.) has lowered the temperature, and reduced the humidity. And so it goes.
Today's storm 


Today's storm 2.  The villas across the pond from my home can scarcely be seen

From my car port -  the street has become a stream

Zion is not bothered by thunderstorms  (thank heaven).  Here he watches the storm from our front door.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not rem...
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur...
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were a...
Read more