Bealtaine

While I was in Coco’s this morning for my usual cappuccino, there was a family of two parents and two small children sitting by one of the window (the coffee shop has a panoramic view of the Promenade). “Can we go now,” said the little girl, clearly bored, to her mother. “We can’t”, she replied, ” look, it’s raining”. The little girl looked out at the rain hammering against the glass and turned back to her mother , her eyes widening,”Is it raining for ever?”.

Though it might seem that way, there has not been that much rain this year, but when it comes, it does so in style. There was huge flooding at the end of last year, and even yesterday, Spring left the stage literally with a bang, as a huge thunderstorm, accompanied by massive hail showers swept the country. This morning, as I was standing on the prom, black clouds rolled in and heavy rain swept along the prom, drenching the optimists who had set off walking or cycling in the sunshine earlier. And, within the hour, the clouds had rolled off again, and it was the sort of sunshine that we’d hoped for