I was starting to wonder if we were cursed.
No matter where we went, for weeks, a storm cloud followed our crew.
Filming in Stoke brought amber warnings of floods.
Durham wielded torrential rain; Cumbria was on high alert for gales and Newcastle was poised for exceptional downfall.
Yet again, we’d put a call into our editor to explain the additional outdoor filming – which requires dry weather – couldn’t be done.
It wasn’t just us – the rain cloud is following us all.
Just stay put in Dundee for a fortnight in May – a time when barbecues and picnics should be planned – and you realise how odd it all is.
When did weather warnings become the norm?
When did advice to stay indoors or to guard against flooding become commonplace?
Never fear, we say, glass half full – possibly of rainwater. It must mean we’re in for a nice summer.
If you’ve not heard the latest, I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you.
The Met Office has briefed the government that Britain is set to face one of the wettest summers on record — with at least 50 days of rain forecast in just three months.
Damp weather is 50 per cent more likely than average.
We live in a country that worships the thought of summer – where the winters are harsh and we look forward joyously to a run of sun.
Of Castlegreen, sandcastles and ice creams at Vissochis; of al fresco drinks at the Fisherman’s or Ship.
Instead, we face what could be our wettest summer since 1912, when showers struck on 55 days.
Bad weather can damage livelihoods
Two Word Wars and the long life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II and in all that time, no wetter summer.
People say it’s starting to get them down and mental well-being being affected by the seasons is real.
It’s all very well saying there’s always a holiday abroad but freak weather seems increasingly common not just on our island.
And what with the exorbitant cost of living, getting away is not top of the list for many.
For most, what feels like incessant rain is an inconvenience – we can’t do the garden, can’t get the kids to their cancelled sports, can’t go for a walk in or while away an evening in a beer garden.
But for some, it’s affecting much more.
I talked to a farmer with land in Angus the other day and thought he was going to cry.
To the question ‘how are you?’ He looked down and bit his lip.
For farmers, crops have rotted, seeds can’t be sown in submerged fields, lambs have been lost to flooding and hypothermia.
The damage has devastated and some businesses may never recover.
Ask Google why it’s raining so much this year and like me, you’ll possibly wish you hadn’t.
Let’s hope it’s not a pattern that’s here to stay and one our race has caused.
Let’s hope we live up to our name of Scotland’s sunniest city and get a nice wee spell after all.
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