(Thursday)I was out with Alfie at around 6.50 this morning, but no sooner had I gone out of the front door of Dexter House I realised that it was wet and then suddenly, that it was snowing. Alfie isn't a fan of snow, so we weren't out there more than five minutes and as soon as I said 'shall we go home?' he turned tail (quite literally) and we were heading back to the warmth of the flat. I'm just glad that I don't have to drive anywhere today if that's the case as I don't enjoy driving in falling snow, or, indeed, any snow of any sort. Just unpleasant.
I took Alfie out again at around 9.30, by which time the snow had more or less stopped and as I write this at 10.35, the sun is shining and there is very little sign of snow.
(Friday) This morning, not a hint of snow. Hardly seems possible that barely 24 hours ago I was looking out of the window with the white stuff fluttering down from the heavens. Not a single speck of the stuff, mercifully, but it's now raining. The pavements outside are wet and there's more than ever puddles walking along Strudwick Drive towards Oldbrook Green.
(Saturday) Another night with a howling wind which kept me awake. I'm writing this at 6.15a.m. Alfie is determined to get my attention and wants to be taken out, but with the wind at full strength, I'm reluctant to go out, although we will be going out at around 6.45, or at least, as soon as it gets light. Apparently this storm is called Jorge, but I don't remember the names of the storm prior to this one, because the last one was Dennis. What about E, F, G,H and I?
It's Leap Day today, which might not mean much unless your birthday is today. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a birthday every four days. Seems to be just an excuse for companies to attempt to cash in on selling you something or offering so much of the price of something you probably didn't want or need in the first place.
(Sunday) Colder than ever this morning. It might look bright and sunny at 7.15a.m., but as soon as I had gone out with Alfie, I was surprised how cold it was. In fact, I was shocked by the cold having an effect on my heart and I thought I was going to have an angina attack, but it didn't come to that, although I had my G.T.N. spray in the pocket of my Regatta jacket. I was glad to get back to the warmth of the flat and so was Alfie!
I'm shocked by the amount of litter that is to be found all around Oldbrook Green. There are several rubbish bins dotted around the area, but still people seem reluctant to put it in any of the bins. There is a sort of covered seating area which is used by youths and then all around it are beer bottles and cans and the nearest rubbish bin is a mere handful of feet away. Just laziness in my opinion that they can't be bothered to put their rubbish in the bins. Then, a gang of youths, presumably from Milton Keynes Academy, walking along the path towards Oldbrook Green, and only a short time later a litter of rubbish, presumably from them, dropped along the path when I follow them with Alfie only minutes later. I was always under the impression that this generation of children were aware of environmental issues, probably more than my generation, so why is there an issue with dropping rubbish everywhere? It's just sheer laziness.
So, why 'in like a lion and out like a lamb'? Having done a bit of a search on the internet, this is what I discovered:
According to a saying which dates back to the 17th century, or, according to a later account, sometimes the other way around. The old saying is a cliché in modern meteorological circles, but it's not necessarily a reliable forecasting guide. March is the transition between winter and summer, often starting with stormy weather before becoming mild later. In this sense the saying is simply an observation of the common seasonal pattern. However, it fails if it's taken to be a specific weather predictor, with studies failing to find a correlation between especially bad weather at the start of March and good weather at it's end.
One idea which has recently gained currency is that the saying refers to the stars. At the start of March, the constellation Leo (The Lion) is on the eastern horizon at sunset. By the end of the month. Aries, (The Ram) is on the western horizon. It's an ingenious explanation, but fails to account for the saying occurring specifically in weather folklore. According to another theory the saying is biblical. Jesus's first appearance was as the sacrificial lamb, but He will return as the Lion of Judah, hence those symbolic animals, inconveniently though, the older version definitely put the lion first.
Regardless of all the above, this morning (Monday) it's quiet outside. No wind and reasonably sunny and definitely NO RAIN. In fact, it's really quite spring-like. Let's just hope that it remains that way for the time being.
I took Alfie out again at around 9.30, by which time the snow had more or less stopped and as I write this at 10.35, the sun is shining and there is very little sign of snow.
(Friday) This morning, not a hint of snow. Hardly seems possible that barely 24 hours ago I was looking out of the window with the white stuff fluttering down from the heavens. Not a single speck of the stuff, mercifully, but it's now raining. The pavements outside are wet and there's more than ever puddles walking along Strudwick Drive towards Oldbrook Green.
(Saturday) Another night with a howling wind which kept me awake. I'm writing this at 6.15a.m. Alfie is determined to get my attention and wants to be taken out, but with the wind at full strength, I'm reluctant to go out, although we will be going out at around 6.45, or at least, as soon as it gets light. Apparently this storm is called Jorge, but I don't remember the names of the storm prior to this one, because the last one was Dennis. What about E, F, G,H and I?
It's Leap Day today, which might not mean much unless your birthday is today. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a birthday every four days. Seems to be just an excuse for companies to attempt to cash in on selling you something or offering so much of the price of something you probably didn't want or need in the first place.
(Sunday) Colder than ever this morning. It might look bright and sunny at 7.15a.m., but as soon as I had gone out with Alfie, I was surprised how cold it was. In fact, I was shocked by the cold having an effect on my heart and I thought I was going to have an angina attack, but it didn't come to that, although I had my G.T.N. spray in the pocket of my Regatta jacket. I was glad to get back to the warmth of the flat and so was Alfie!
I'm shocked by the amount of litter that is to be found all around Oldbrook Green. There are several rubbish bins dotted around the area, but still people seem reluctant to put it in any of the bins. There is a sort of covered seating area which is used by youths and then all around it are beer bottles and cans and the nearest rubbish bin is a mere handful of feet away. Just laziness in my opinion that they can't be bothered to put their rubbish in the bins. Then, a gang of youths, presumably from Milton Keynes Academy, walking along the path towards Oldbrook Green, and only a short time later a litter of rubbish, presumably from them, dropped along the path when I follow them with Alfie only minutes later. I was always under the impression that this generation of children were aware of environmental issues, probably more than my generation, so why is there an issue with dropping rubbish everywhere? It's just sheer laziness.
So, why 'in like a lion and out like a lamb'? Having done a bit of a search on the internet, this is what I discovered:
According to a saying which dates back to the 17th century, or, according to a later account, sometimes the other way around. The old saying is a cliché in modern meteorological circles, but it's not necessarily a reliable forecasting guide. March is the transition between winter and summer, often starting with stormy weather before becoming mild later. In this sense the saying is simply an observation of the common seasonal pattern. However, it fails if it's taken to be a specific weather predictor, with studies failing to find a correlation between especially bad weather at the start of March and good weather at it's end.
One idea which has recently gained currency is that the saying refers to the stars. At the start of March, the constellation Leo (The Lion) is on the eastern horizon at sunset. By the end of the month. Aries, (The Ram) is on the western horizon. It's an ingenious explanation, but fails to account for the saying occurring specifically in weather folklore. According to another theory the saying is biblical. Jesus's first appearance was as the sacrificial lamb, but He will return as the Lion of Judah, hence those symbolic animals, inconveniently though, the older version definitely put the lion first.
Regardless of all the above, this morning (Monday) it's quiet outside. No wind and reasonably sunny and definitely NO RAIN. In fact, it's really quite spring-like. Let's just hope that it remains that way for the time being.
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