Emz by the Thames

Had a seemingly endless ribbon of moderately heavy rain for about 90 minutes on and off. The A40 is flooded. I opened the window, stuck my head out and got covered in gunk from a gutter that could no longer cope!

Storm to my east (Beaconsfield area) ..literally 10 seconds after I said to my partner it was unlikely we'd see any storms this far west!!

My house purchase has fallen through so I too will be in a small rented flat. People are always really surprised to hear that it still costs quite a lot to heat a small flat because the heaters aren't particularly economical. Also lack of central heating leads to warm and cold spots in the flat which leads to condensation and mould issues, especially as small flats with more than 1 person living there tend to be more humid due to 2 people cooking, showering and breathing in a small space, especially if you've no extraction or external door leading to the outside. I dread winter here, even though we have a dehumidifer on, if it gets about 70% percent, the whole flat starts to smell of mushroom soup...that's the mould growing. I feel for the guy upstairs though - even more this he only turns his immersion heater on 3 days a week so her can shower - the rest of the time he does the dishes and his daily ablutions by boiling the kettle alone - he's reall going to suffer this winter.

Wow - mist, 17.c and that scent of a damp, woody almost autumnal morning sure was refreshing at 6am after the last few weeks! Would like a thunderstorm today. The mist appears to be getting thicker. Edit - ok, it's now misty, sunny and breezy all at the same time which is kind of odd!!

Thunder in Great Missenden! When it started to rain earlier, the birds started to sing, it was beautiful!

Me too, sometimes our evening walks don't start until 9pm in the summer...but now it's suddenly dark at that time - so depressing.

Nightswimming - R.E.M, especially the line 'September's coming soon..'

Yes, because it will be my first winter living in a new house, having moved from a small flat, so I already have no idea how much it will cost exactly to heat it, I can only estimate. We've bought additional sherpa blankets and hot water bottles just in case. I usually love a cold winter but I'm worried about money this year.

My partner just booked Friday off even though we have a house move next month and not much annual leave left. Why? His boss refusing to install any kind of air conditioning into the boiling, airless attic room office my partner works in, meaning it will be unbearable in there by the end of the week. He felt so ill during the July heatwave despite being allowed to start and leave earlier. I can't believe we are in a situation whereby we have used up 3 days of annual leave this year because of red weather warnings and heatwaves and a boss who is completely unsympathetic to the working conditions of his staff. Work places are going to have to take heatwaves much more seriously in the future, especially in smaller offices in converted buildings where there is no air con or circulation.

Oh how lovely! Good luck with the move and keep us updated on your gardening plans!

Love Rewind and Let's Rock. Despite the impending mortgage...might go on the Saturday this year as my partner still has a massive crush on Belinda Carlisle who is playing!! The heatwave of July 18/19th basically made lots of things ripen, go to seed or abort. I had 6 pumpkins originally but the plants aborted the smallest fruits (which were roughly the size of largest oranges) despite me watering them at 11pm each night of the heatwave because it wasn't used to the heat, so now I have only 3. It pushed the fast forward button on the rest of the pumpkins, which have stopped their rapid growth phase and started to ripen. Squash need lots of sun but also moisture, the latter lacking. I wonder how commercial pumpkin crops are faring? Fewer, smaller pumpkins this autumn possibly? I am looking forward to my first autumn in a house. Little things like being able to put a pumpkin on the doorstep on Halloween, sitting in the garden after dark or rake the leaves in the garden. Not looking forward to the heating bills, though.

Oh it's the 10th anniversary of this happening to my hair while walking across the park

Well you autumn rampers, the announcement of the Strictly contestants starts today...and the pumpkins at my allotment are turning orange. Strange thing from my youth which I've never forgotten - I used to come back from Reading Festival and the sunlight had noticeably changed - the angle of the light and shadows...the world looked a little different. And a night time chill in the air for the first time in months. Camping out in late August, the nights are surprisingly chilly. For once, I'm hoping for a rainy autumn for obvious reasons. I miss the sound of rain.

We're (finally!) moving house at the moment - the last three weeks have been lots of complicated admin in the heat and humidity in a flat that remains a furnace no matter what we do. 25.c outside, 29.c inside and the sun isn't even out. Now in the middle part which is basically arguing with solicitors and end of tenancy deep cleaning while having a mass throw out. Lots of physical work and every day ends with a headache and feeling too hot to eat. And now we are due more of the same when the packing an moving starts But we are moving from a flat to a house with garden! I'll get a paddling pool just in time for a hosepipe ban to start no doubt! edit: oh I will have to change my username as we're leaving the big trees and the squirrels behind!

Cooler now than at 10pm last night!

All the rowan tree berries in our car park are already orange, this doesn't usually happen until early September. Some of my plants at the allotment have seemingly pressed the fast forward button since the heatwave due to stress and have either bolted, gone to seed or started to ripen early.

Awake at 4.45am again - almost two hours before the alarm! I love light evenings so much, but light mornings manage to wake me up even though we have a blackout lining on my curtains!! I find it so hard to be asleep when it's light. Equally, when the nights start drawing in I feel very depressed!! I'm just so affected by daylight hours.

Haven't been able to us the tumble dryer, oven or even put the TV for about 2 weeks because of the building heat. Flat is 36sqm which is pretty small with no door to the outside world nor balcony and it's surrounded on 3 sides by a giant concrete car park and then a 3 lane A road which make the apartment block a heat island. It's been absolutely horrible and we still feel dopey and dehydrated. Followed all the rules, windows and curtains shut by 10am, ice blocks in front of the fan etc. Makes little difference. Now I'm excited about being able to eat ovenable food and do laundry today - go me

19.C here but the humidity is wild. A few convective drops here and there. Meh. I deserve a storm, dammit!

Yes, we have a green corridor behind our flat that leads to the railway line, golf course and open countryside beyond. There's been a big wildlife water bowl here for years (but also a lady who leaves birdfood peanuts on the ground at night, which the badger love). So the badgers are here most nights, except when it rains heavy as the worms come to the surface, the rain forms puddles, so they don't need to venture far from home for food and drink. I too have woken up dehydrated despite drinking 3 litres of water yesterday and keeping out of the sun.

29.c in the bedroom, but feels hotter. Once this apartment block heats up, it just doesn't cool down. I gave up and got up. Got some important admin to do tomorrow....I'm going to be useless. As I was awake, I did see a badger drinking out of the waterbowl down on the communal lawn though!

Came home and it was blue skies and 35.c. Curtains are closed to keep it cool - saw the temps dropping like a stone, opened the curtains and...dark clouds everywhere!!! Should have looked at the radar, granted. Exciting watching it drop a degree in 10 minutes.

I had horrible nausea yesterday that would come and go suddenly, better after drinking 2 litres of water throughout the day but unpleasant all the same.

Have another coffee I'm now thinking of that spoof episode of Panorama where they had spaghetti growing on trees. Maybe I should plants some cigarette trees? My neighbouring allotment does have many nicotiana plants though!!

23.c when I went to bed, 18.c when I got up...but the apartment block absorbed all the heat from the last week and it's an uncomfortable 26.c indoors already with all the windows open. I think it will certainly be hotter indoors today, despite my regime of open then closed windows and curtains and ice blocks on front of the fan. Trying to keep the allotment functioning is hard work. The soil is like dust, never seen it so bad. Despite nightly watering, the heat killed off 2 of my four courgette plants yesterday. Too hot to water at 7pm but there a bunfight for the taps at 9.30pm and as a result no water pressure! Was still there at 11pm last night. Hoping for a storm tonight.