A Foul Weather Alternative

Crook (aka Blogtown) Darren must be at home – all the flags are flying

Last night, I packed a cheese and tomato butty and a banana and all kinds of lovely things with the intention of carrying out my threat to go and bag Fountains Fell

The local MET office girl on The Beeb said that it would rain towards the Southern part of the Dales (ie not on Fountains Fell) and that it would be cold and windy and cloudy up here in the North Pennines.

The National weather forecast, however, given out just a few minutes earlier said that it would probably be wet and windy but that the heaviest rain would be elsewhere in the Pennines and on the North Yorks Moors and that it would snow on high ground later on.

Whilst, it would be really great if the MET office could give out the same weather forecasts, even if they’re wrong , on balance, its was probably what you might expect for late November, probably not too bad and I resolved to go.

But at seven this morning it was chucking it down. Poking the head through the door revealed icy rain. I spotted a gritter moving along the road up at Stanley Crook. Bruno looked at me with that kind of “you must be joking.. kind of look. The cat refused to go out. Breakfast for me and then see what happens. Would it brighten up a bit? Would it at least stop raining?

No.

So, I was fairly pleased by elevenish, over yet another hot coffee, with a warm and semi-comatose canine next to me on the sofa, that it was still raining. In fact it was heaving it down. There were splatters of sleet on the window.

An exploration of Crook in the early afternoon with an ever-so-slightly reluctant superdawg confirmed that the rain was on the point of not being liquid anymore and it was, frankly, quite ‘orrible. Brian rang and told me about the wet snow they’d had up at Nenthead.

I may go to Fountains Fell tommorrow.

I still have the cheese butty and the banana.

Or I may put up the Christmas tree.

In the meantime, I’m building up motivation to nip down to the Crook Boozerama for a bottle of vino collapso to cheer meself up.

Of there’s anybody out there reading this from The Maldives – I hope you’re bloody warm enough. You really wouldn’t like it here just now. (Its Tony from Sheffield by the way)

Brrrrrr……