Soggy Britannia.

After the wet spring and summer we’ve had this year, we were all hoping for a dry autumn. Well, I’ve never known as many areas of Britain to be simultaneously affected by flooding as happened today. There are evacuations and rescues going on from Scotland down to the West Country, including in the town where I used to live in Northumberland. Several areas have had more than a month’s rainfall in twenty four hours.

It hasn’t been that bad here. We’ve had plenty of rain, but I’m not aware of any emergencies in the county. What did trouble me a little was seeing a mixed flock of swallows and house martins hunting low over the fields the past two evenings. I thought they’d all gone back to Africa now, but evidently not. It’s always a little sad to see them leave, but it’s much sadder to see them struggling for a final feed in such wet and windy conditions. Maybe the south wind is discouraging them from setting off. Maybe they’ll go on Thursday when it’s due to fall light.

Swallows and martins are birds of the long, warm days. Their mastery of flight is almost unsurpassed, and they’ve kept me well entertained through many a summer’s evening. Too many more summers like this one, and they might give up coming here altogether.