Four seasons in one day

For us Brits, who are known to find any excuse to talk about the weather, we really had something to talk about this month! Since I wrote my last newsletter, we've seen hail the size of 50p pieces (that's covered my lawn in white within a matter of seconds), flash floods countrywide... and now a spate of hot weather that's had us all running for our summer clothes - and even those have sometimes not been cool enough. And it's May, remember. All definite signs of the climate becoming more volatile, methinks...I was writing upstairs at home when the hail started. I felt this sense of childlike glee and anticipation and charged downstairs to experience it firsthand. But then, after a minute or so of standing out there in the lightning, thunder and hail, I found tears were welling up in my eyes. It felt like yet another wake-up call from a sad and unhealthy earth/ atmosphere. (Yes, I know the earth isn't really sad - I have a tendency to anthropomorphise - thought you'd like that word - but you know what I mean). I stood there, all-of-a-sudden strangely bereft.