A literal and metaphorical autumn suddenly arrives in Albion

July 29, 2018 11:54 AM

After an endlessly dry and hot summer (how people coped), stressing diners and hospitals and crops and disrupting trains, the tube and the Channel tunnel, with wildfires caused by barbeques and (insanely) airborne fire lanterns, some lightning and much-needed rain finally hit the UK. The infrastructure immediately failed. Music festivals (Tom Jones!) were disrupted, flooding occurred, flights and trains were cancelled, roads became impassable. The clouds arrived on cue to hide the Blood Moon while reservoir levels, even in Scotland, continue to be low. Farming reaches crisis point, but there's always imports. As usual, Brits queued for freebies, were advised to chill their sex toys, and politicians went abroad. [previously]
posted by Wordshore (22 comments total)

We’ve had similar, slightly hotter weather in Paris, and I was gutted after such a hot week there were clouds for the blood moon! Switched over to a British livestream but the same problem.
posted by ellieBOA at 12:04 PM on July 29, 2018 [3 favorites]

We have the same problem out here vis-a-vis heavy rains after a prolonged drought causing chaos. After the bad CA drought of a few years ago we finally had our usual winter downpour after a few years without- chaos! The ground was too hard and the water couldn’t be absorbed and businesses and homes flooded along Market street and (bizarrely) a bumper crop of rats emerged from a small park near me and we are still dealing with the impact of that.
Man considering how much trouble your farmers are having right now, a bumper crop of the wee beasties would not be welcome I fear.

I love that petition to ban topless diners in restaurants by the way. No offense meant, but I don’t particularly want to see topless Brits while I dine either. Or topless anyone really. Doesn’t your neck of the woods have those signs that say: “no shirt, no shoes, no service?” Or is that a peculiarly American thing?
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 12:19 PM on July 29, 2018 [2 favorites]

Chill your sex toys

Has Ellen Scott ever actually used one?
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:28 PM on July 29, 2018 [4 favorites]

I found out a little while ago that the Met Office has an extensive online archive, including Monthly Weather Reports going back to 1884(!).

It was interesting to see how often temperatures hit 32/33C in the summer (although not as often for long periods of time as we're seeing now). It makes me grateful that even though we're slowly melting into a stinking puddle in London, at least we're experiencing it while also able to use air con/refrigeration etc.
posted by fight or flight at 12:30 PM on July 29, 2018 [3 favorites]

Sweden has also got some rain, very welcome after everything's been on fire etc.
posted by Vesihiisi at 12:54 PM on July 29, 2018 [8 favorites]

Like everything else these days, the untoward climatic conditions were immediately dragooned into service as metaphor.
posted by adamgreenfield at 12:59 PM on July 29, 2018 [2 favorites]

I lived in the tropics without AC for a bit, and I got into the habit of keeping my pillows in the freezer. Hope that helps.
posted by adept256 at 1:22 PM on July 29, 2018 [6 favorites]

England has ridiculously narrow engineering tolerances for temperature. They have built their entire country around the affordances of predictably mild weather and now that mankind is changing the climate they are very well positioned to be truly fucked with poorly insulated and drafty housing stock designed to mostly to manage damp rather than deep cold and sweltering heat.

English trains are most noticeable goldilocks. They stop when it is too cold and when it is too hot. Too cold being about -5C and too hot being 30+C. Then they switch you over to buses which may or may not have A/C. Not in the case of a trip to Oxford from Birmingham with my elderly parents during a week long heatwave in 2005. My parents never again visited in the summer.
posted by srboisvert at 1:30 PM on July 29, 2018 [17 favorites]

Wordshore’s slice of British life posts are a constant delight, bringing back fond memories.
But the real risk with the weather is the cricket! Kindly get your meteorological act together swiftly.
posted by bystander at 1:34 PM on July 29, 2018 [7 favorites]

That “coped” link led me to learn about weever fish. They sound horrible! What a way to ruin a nice day at the seaside.
posted by saucysault at 2:19 PM on July 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

I’ve had 2 holidays this summer in the north of Scotland and both have coincided with heat waves. I am actually brown for the first time in my 41 years.
posted by gnuhavenpier at 2:20 PM on July 29, 2018 [4 favorites]

Yes you have to chill your sex toys so you can maximize your fun in a warm hedge.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 2:45 PM on July 29, 2018 [16 favorites]

Well, then, I shouldn't be alarmed now if there's a bustle in my hedgerow.
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:31 PM on July 29, 2018 [11 favorites]

Hopefully some of the rain water has made it's way to the reservoirs, there is certainly plenty of it about!

Glad to hear that there are still some hedge fun managers.
posted by asok at 3:56 PM on July 29, 2018 [6 favorites]

I am actually brown for the first time in my 41 years.

I came back from my London trip a few weeks ago with a sunburn, which was...unprecedented.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:21 PM on July 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

gnuhavenpier: "I’ve had 2 holidays this summer in the north of Scotland and both have coincided with heat waves. I am actually brown for the first time in my 41 years."

Whenever I go to somewhere known for being relatively cloudy and cool (Wales, Scotland, Scandinavia), they have record sunshine and heat. Conversely, when I went to Mexico, it was cloudy and rainy every day.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:22 PM on July 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

I don't have the equipment to know for sure so I asked my partner, wouldn't that be uncomfortable?

She just screwed up her face and said 'What? like a chilldo?'
posted by adept256 at 5:32 PM on July 29, 2018 [15 favorites]

Thank you adept256 for absolutely ruining my search history.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 6:16 PM on July 29, 2018 [7 favorites]

It's so good to have the clouds and breeze back for now, although it's meant to get warmer later in the week (nooo!).
posted by Ziggy500 at 2:58 AM on July 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

The hot weather finally pushed me to install the heat pump which I've had in boxes for like, a year?!.
I've installed a ton of fancy insulation to my boat, but it's got open skies to the south until mid-afternoon and a lot of steel and glass to soak it all up, so it got HOT!
Also because of the nature of living in a boat getting warm wet air out is a pain. So the air con finally got installed and turned on last Thursday and I did not realise how bad it had gotten. It's a total delight (and in the UK a very rare one) to have an air-conditioned home. I kind of hope it gets much much hotter just so I can enjoy the luxury.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:37 AM on July 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

We were in Ireland for vacation two weeks ago, and actually got a little bit of sunburn walking around Dublin. The temperature was pleasant (mid-70s), but it was a lot sunnier than I would have expected for Ireland. I had touted to my wife how lush and green everything would be, but the 8 weeks with no rain had made everything a bit worn-out when we got to the countryside.
posted by briank at 5:54 AM on July 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

I semi deliberately popped to the shops when the rain was due, so it started chucking it down on the walk back. Everyone I passed was cheering and half dancing in it.
posted by lucidium at 8:48 AM on July 30, 2018 [4 favorites]