Long drop

Looking down from one of our second floor windows, I spotted these broken slates yesterday. Looking around the garden, there are more of the same. Though our roof isn't by any means an old one, the weekend gales have clearly played havoc with it. Oh dear, more scaffolding!

Hey ho, the wind and the rain

It was at its worst yesterday evening, as I went to church. Today's been mostly fine, though colder: the wind has changed direction.

A couple of weeks ago, our snow guard came adrift from its moorings: two lots of kind neighbours brought it to our attention. But it's high, high up, and not at a place to which anyone would want to run up a ladder.

Thinking laterally upon hearing the wild weather forecast yesterday, I removed a top floor bedroom window: leaning out I was able to lasso the fencing with a couple of ropes, tying them in to a pipe. If the final screw on the snow guard failed to hold, I calculated that it should at least be prevented from crashing onto the glass roof below, or banging against the first floor window.

This morning, following the tempest, apples have rained down, but at roof level things remain the same. Others have been less fortunate, we hear on this evening's News.

Leyla

Tomorrow, Caroline's most cosmopolitan student (so far) departs after a week's intensive teaching. Born in Vienna, she was brought up in Berlin, but has lived in Brazil, Japan and now (with her Japanese husband, a Buddhist monk) the South of France. There aren't many foreign visitors one can take to a Shakespeare play, unpacking it with them so comprehensively afterwards.

The rain has been pretty unceasing since she came; which is just as well as she says she hates hot weather. What a contrast there's been this year between March and April!

Severn walk

The temperature rose, snow falling at last on Saturday night - our first of the year. As usual, we "suffered" less than in the East of England, and indeed it was pretty much a non-event. Certainly, there was nothing like enough to put us off driving to meet friends for a walk along the river.

Passing Frampton, we parked at Fretherne, walking from there N-W towards Arlingham. Awre church tower stood up on the far side of the channel, breaking the flatness. It feels odd looking North to May Hill from here; but then we know this part of Gloucestershire hardly at all. The last time I came to Frampton was with a motley bunch of bikers, en route for Slimbridge to help launch the National Cycle Network.

Not many birds to see yesterday.

Degrees of feeling

I waited at the bus-stop yesterday, possibly the coldest day so far this Winter, alongside a father and daughter: he - like me - well-wrapped up; she, dressed as if for a Summer's day.