BBC is predicting sun!

Just had a peek at the BBC website to see what the weather forecast is for today.  I still have the curtains drawn because I still need the light on to be able to see what I am doing, and it is not easy to see what the day is going to be like.  The Beeb predicts sunshine virtually all day, but with the British weather being what it is, we all know how reliable a forecast can be...or should I say unreliable a forecast can be.

One of the things about the weather in the UK is that you learn to take the good with the bad and you learn to accept the bad and make the most of it.  This is not the country for planning a barbecue  much more than a few hours in advance, at least not without a Plan B, or even a Plan C, up your sleeve.  There have been some exceptions to this rule; the summer of 1976 being one of them when we actually had a drought during a long summer without rain.  This summer, for those of you who didn't watch the London 2012 Olympic Games, it has been cool, wet and windy.  Very British in fact to go with a summer of celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and a British man getting to the final of Wimbledon, as well as the Olympics.  It has actually been very wet but everyone has adapted and certainly parents have had their money's worth of wear from their children's wet weather gear.  And if you are a child?  I can sum that up in one work - puddles!  Splash!

Then there was the summer when I did my training dig as part of my archaeology degree, between the first and second years of the course which must be about 9 years ago now.  When we were out in a field in Dorset excavating in a field with no shade the UK had the highest tempretures ever recorded.  It was actually so hot that when we wheeled out the barrows of equipment in the morning over into the excavation field the tarmac on the road we had to cross was actually melting.  Those of us who were older and wiser (I was the oldest person on the course) came with sensible things like a big umbrella, 4 litres of water to drink a day and sun cream.  The 19 year olds?  The swigged down small bottles of Coke and wondered why they became dehydrated as they topped up their tans during the breaks.  At about twice their age I was surviving while they were wilting.

And what is the moral behind this rambling discourse on the British weather?

Be sensible and take what procautions you can to maintain your health, but remember that nothing goes to plan all the time so be prepared to adapt to what comes along.  Then when the perfect day does come along to surprise you, you will be able to fully enjoy and appreciate the perfection of the day.  Carpe Diem.

P.S. Spookily I have just checked my e-mail and I have had a Thought For The Day that I subscribe to arrive in my In-Box.

W

ithin each one of us there is a master of the universe. Not the universe out there but the inner universe of our thoughts and feelings, attitudes and actions. Most people realise too late what awaits within and how valuable it is. For too long we allow ourselves to be distracted and bewitched by all that is happening outside. To be the master of your inner world is to be the master of your own destiny. Are you going to be the master or a slave?