Tags
Absolute Write, Brits, Communism, Crusades, Cyprus, Drew Barrymore, Engels, Marx, Neuromancer, Night City, Paphos, Rain, Rainy City Roller Girls, Rainy Days, Richard I, Roller Derby, Vampires, William Gibson
Taking a break from Vampires for a moment to talk about Rainy days (can we squeeze in a link there? Well, er, Vampires can’t cross running water and, er, ok, I’ll stop trying and just blatantly jump out of topic for this one…). Rainy Days is the topic of this month’s Absolute Write Blog Chain.
As several of the Brits on AW have commented, this is a topic we can do. We are renowned for our weather. While the US has tornadoes and hurricanes and Windy Cities and Kansas and the famous New York snows and all that dramatic weather, we have our famous ability to talk about it. And, for all that it is a stereotype and a cliche, it is true. We Brits do indeed talk about the weather a lot. Especially the rain. Because it does it so bloody much here.
It’s true. In fact, there is compelling and irrefutable historical evidence* that the true and sole reason for the Crusades was so that Richard I would have an excuse to build a series of castles on ‘critical tactical locations in the Middle East’ which also happened to be on sunny islands in the Mediterranean with easy access to the beach and a short hop across the bay to the local tavernas. You see, we love our wonderfully rainy weather so much that we declare long and pointless wars in sunny climes just to get away from it so we can talk about it to foreigners in their own language** Holidaying Brits the world over should be proud that they are maintaining a tradition of avoiding the rain which has been practised since the Middle Ages. Including the creating carnage on the beaches aspect.
But apropos of the above, I have an even greater reason to talk about the rain than the average Brit because I live in Manchester, a city which has its own sinister micro-climate which ensures that it rains here more than any other place in the UK (with the possible exception of parts of Wales but general concensus there is that the gods have a grudge). Manchester is, in my opinion, the place that William Gibson was really describing when he talks about Night City in Neuromancer. A place so grim and damp that it could be argued it was directly responsible for Communism because of the effect it had on Marx and Engels. Put it this way, we have a Roller Derby team*** who call themselves ‘The Rainy City Rollergirls’. That has to mean something with regards to our association with the wetter of the weather phenomena…
So it was with great surprise that, in the middle of last month, I read a headline which said that the UK was potentially about to suffer drought (apologies for the Daily Mail link here…). This was in a week in which I had spent several hours standing at open bus stops while the heavens poured down upon me, when my usually reliable waterproof coat failed in its primary function due to the sheer volume of water that was hitting it and when we did not see a hint of blue sky at all even once it had stopped (temporarily) raining. Of course, in typical media bias, the newspapers were actually talking about a situation in which some people who lived in the south east (which has the lowest rainfall, the least number of reservoirs and the highest population) might have to reduce their water usage by not using hosepipes rather than
what I would call a real ‘drought’ which has a more cracked earth and dessicated rivers feel to it. Still, it made me think about the UK’s relationship with rain. We hate it, we try to get away from it, we hide away under waterproof coats and yet it is actually a very essential environmental feature. Without it, we die. On a less dramatic note, without it there would be no ‘green and pleasant land’ for poets to witter on about (and also no daffodils, which may be a relief for those who are no fan of Wordsworth). Rain is like the unwelcome member of the family who we have to invite to our parties but shun when he arrives. With the environment changing so dramatically at the moment, maybe it is time to embrace mad old Uncle Deluge and appreciate him while we can. Perhaps next time it rains, more people might leave their hoods off and turn their faces to the clouds to feel the water run down their faces for the sheer joy of celebrating the fact that it still rains and so we might continue to live for another decade or so? Perhaps…
Hmmm, got a bit environmental there for a moment… do excuse me….
*Absolutely convincing evidence which I cannot, for reasons I cannot explain, show to you at this point in time but trust me it is compelling and irrefutable and comes from the same reliable source as the evidence that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that William Rufus built Newcastle Keep close to where Newcastle Central train station was to (eventually) be built in order so he would have a great view for his obsession with train spotting. They planned a long way ahead these Normans, you know…
** Which always seem to sound almost exactly like English but spoken really loudly and slowly.
*** I have no idea how we acquired a Roller Derby team or even how it came to be a sport in the UK, I blame Drew Barrymore… though I have noticed very few men complain about a sport which sees young women skating aggresively around a ring as being ‘not cricket’ but then, maybe I am reading the wrong newspapers. It took a lot longer than this for us to discover ‘American Not at all Football’ and ‘Baseball’ to the extent of having our own teams so clearly the trick in exporting sports is to ensure plenty of sexy young women in your teams…
Participants and posts:
Please feel free to check out these other great blog posts which form part of this chain.
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)
Bogna – http://bemaslanka.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)
pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)
Nissie – http://www.paperheroes.net (link to this month’s post)
Lyra Jean – http://beyondtourism.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)
Domoviye – http://working-in-china.com (link to this month’s post)
magicmint – http://www.loneswing.com (link to this month’s post)
areteus – https://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)
julzperri – http://www.fishandfrivolity.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)
hillaryjacques – http://hillaryjacques.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)
AFord – http://af12.webs.com (link to this month’s post)
Tomspy77 – http://thomas-willam-spychalski.webs.com (link to this month’s post)
ronbwriting – http://ronbwriting.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)
randi.lee – http://emotionalnovel.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)
J. W. Alden – http://www.authoralden.com (link to this month’s post)
SuzanneSeese – http://www.viewofsue.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)
Turndog-Millionaire – http://turndog-millionaire.com (link to this month’s post)
ralfast said:
And the price for the best praise comments goes to?
Me!
Why?
Because I read the whole thing with David Mitchell’s voice in my head! 😀
D.A Lascelles said:
Damn, my secret identity has been revealed! 🙂
Dan said:
Well that was definitely a valiant and successful attempt at putting many varied and seemingly unrelated ideas into the same post. Crusades, cyberpunk, roller derby, beach holidays, rain, communism, droughts, history, and train spotting.
My hat goes off to you.
D.A Lascelles said:
There was no attempt. It just sort of happened that way 🙂
Diane Carlisle (@pyrosama) said:
One thing you forgot to mention that we have here in the US, forest fires caused by the spontaneous combustion! How we would welcome the rain when this happens, but I can say I would not like living in the UK with all that rain!
Here in Florida, I do welcome the rain on my face, because it quickly goes away and the sunshine evaporates it and I’m left with a free facial!
😀
Great post! I’m getting some really great lessons in geography. This is better than taking college classes. We get the real scoop from real people!
D.A Lascelles said:
I would trust my knowledge of geography even less than my knowledge of history… I passed history but not geography 🙂
But thanks, anyway, glad to have helped in your education…
magic mint said:
I love the rain and the thunder and lightening that comes with it. Also those storm clouds are a spectacle that I enjoy to see. Embrace the rain!
D.A Lascelles said:
Storms are good to look at if you are safe indoors… sometimes they are not so good if you are out in them 🙂
Hillary Jacques said:
I very much enjoyed the voice of this piece, as well as the unexpected GIbson reference.
And…long live rollergirls!
p.s. what in the world does Drew Barrymore have to do with it?
D.A Lascelles said:
The first I heard of Roller Derby was the film about it which Drew Barrymore was in and produced. I suspect a lot of Brits had the same experience hence it is her fault it has become so popular.
J.W. Alden said:
Great post!
Like Diane, I’m in Florida, so the rain is often a nice little treat here (except for those dramatic storms you mentioned . . . our fingers stay crossed during hurricane season).
And I’m also enjoying all the posts in this chain from different parts of the world about rain and its effects on the denizens of those parts. I didn’t realize how interesting this prompt would be!
D.A Lascelles said:
It does seem to have triggered off a lot of interesting posts!
Erin Chupeco (@RinChupeco) said:
Someone who doesn’t like rain either – and a whole country of people, too 😀 I’ve heard that it hasn’t snowed in the UK in the past year, but had lots of fog instead.
Now I have this visual image of Richard I having tea and sunning himself atop a large sandcastle in my head. Not that I know what Richard I looks like, even.
D.A Lascelles said:
We’ve had snow this year. In fact, here is a photo I took last month: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10792991@N02/6822827359/in/set-72157629185006853 But we also have a lot of rain and fog too. Occasionally it even gets sunny (it was actually almost summer weather yesterday 🙂 ). But on the times I have been to the Mediterranean, there always seems to be a Crusader castle right on the beach which seems too convenient for my liking…
alexp01 said:
Hehe, that was fun! Perhaps they meant drought in relative terms (Q: What do you call a drought in Seattle? A: Only 364 days of rain). Apropos to your tale of Richard I, though, all that rain means that the island is a great place to grow crops after all (that selfsame Richard basically used it as a big farm bureau bank after all!).
D.A Lascelles said:
Oh yes, he only occasionally remembered England when he needed to tax somewhere to fund his holidays abroad 🙂
Julz said:
i there! Great post this month I really enjoyed reading your piece of writing
I enjoy reading your blog, so I tagged you in my ‘lucky 7 meme’! If you’re not too familiar with it, feel free to head on over to my blog post that explains it a little better;
http://fishandfrivolity.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/gotta-love-game-of-tag.html
I realise I’m blindsiding you so feel free to not commit if you’re swamped.
Cheers!
Julz
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Randi Lee said:
Well written work! I very much enjoyed reading this. I can tell you’re a talented author.
Also, this year my area experienced a trifecta: we had a hurricane, a tornado, AND the October ice storms all within three months of each other!
Suzanne Seese said:
I couldn”t imagine living in a place that damp, I would go crazy trying to fix my hair everyday!
Good post!
D.A Lascelles said:
This is why we have rainhats… 🙂
Thomas Spychalski said:
Really great David, between here and elsewhere I really like your thorough and thoroughly readable writing style!
Mine is up tomorrow,
Tom
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Lyra said:
Oh another Floridian here. I don’t really like the rain either. In winter it’s too cold to enjoy and in summer it just makes it more muggy.
Loved the history bits about Richard I and I knew what you meant by Drew Barrymore. I always thought Roller Derby was a ’70s thing.
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