Monsoon-like rain strikes again

I woke up in the night to feel a breath of fresh air on my face, a little warmer than room temperature. No window was open, but if the wind veers to the south west and  blows directly on to the wall outside the bedroom, the slight change in pressure pushes air into the room through leaky window frames or chimney breast not properly sealed. Today it heralded the end of the cold spell of northerly air we've experienced in the last couple of weeks. By mid morning instead of being one degree C it was fourteen, unusually warm for the time of year.

Clare was up before me, receiving an early delivery of fish from Ashton's. She was bagging portions for the freezer when I came down. Having already prepared the batter for waffle making, she instructed me on how to use the waffle iron, so we had waffles for breakfast cooked by me for the first time. No disasters!  Ruth Honey asked me to check a draft order of service for her. It gave me an opportunity to arrange with her a date next week for my first podcast interview in a series I've been planning.

With a change in weather came the rain. it rained non-stop until three in the afternoon. I spent all morning writing then made lunch; fish for Clare, chicken and chorizo for me, the other half of a dish cooked some weeks ago and stored in the freezer with veg for both of us.

What bad luck with the weather for St Catherine's Christmas Fayre this afternoon. Before I went there I had to withdraw some cash to spend. The only place I could think to walk to in the rain with an indoor ATM was the Co-op on Cowbridge Road. A break in the rain was promised, but when left there it was still raining heavily, so I walked to the nearest bus shelter and waited there five minutes until a number 18 bus arrived and took me two stops to the corner of King's Road, within a few minutes walk of St Catherine's. By the time I got off the bus, the rain had stopped, so I wasn't completely soaked when I arrived.

Despite the weather, a decent number of people had turned out, although revenue is bound to be less than last year. I bought three tickets on Clive's bottle tombola stall and won two bottles of wine and another of spicy fruit juice for mulling. I've never had so much luck before! I also bought a jar of apple chutney. As we still have a few of the last batch I made, there's no need to make any more for a while. I returned with a heavy rucksack to deposit my winnings, then went for a walk in the park as rain hadn't yet re-started. It was just after sunset when I set out and walking in the dark with no moon after rain was more an act of endurance than a pleasure. I spent the rest of the day exchanging messages and responding to emails.