Emz by the Thames

Not a sausage here...just yet more endless humid greyness.

Oh I forgot about Epsom Downs, my grandad lived nearby and I used to call it Ups and Downs! According to Meto, a minimum of 6.c tonight. Unbelievable. I've put the windows back in the polytunnel for tonight. it's July next week!

It's notably cold...not sure if the heating is going to go on - but the temps are similar to the winter solstice in some places according to Meto - and some a fraction below! What a dismal day, I can't believe we've taken this week off! Currently taking bets as to whether we'll get single figures tonight. On a non-weather note, I see the Goodyear Blimp is coming to Kent and London next week, and as a kid, my Dad and I used to follow it around! There's no decent views of the London skyline from the Wycombe area, but can anyone recommend one in Berks/Surrey or Herts? Ta.

It's our first week off this year...and look at the weather! What poor timing. Went for a long walk in the countryside but it was cool and very gloomy.

Nothing more depressing than a thunderstorm warning changed to a heavy rain warning! Quite a few roads flooded here. Happy plants/crops though.

Humidity is horrendous, very uncomfortable doing physical work today. Yuck.

But....that's abroad!!! Next to Tunisia and places like that. I'm going out for a walk to look at some stormy skies, will report back if there's anything to report.

I love a good storm, but it's the sweltering hours in the flat beforehand I don't much like! Or the groggy feeling the next day because you've been awake half the night! So I'm going to go to bed really early and be up for some watching after midnight. There is a footpath on a hill a five minute drive from here where you can see for miles, from High Wycombe to at least the Bagshot Heath radio mast in Surrey - a mass expanse of sky - but there's no shelter at all. Wonder if I'll be ok lying on the ground in a sleeping bag?!!

Back from the allotment, it's far too hot to dig, feels more like 26.c out there than 20.c

Feels like it! Shoddy built 80s starter flat that could not cope when they put triple-glazing in, building doesn't breathe. Flat is only 37sqm and has no balcony, no door to the outside world or extractor. We actually sold it to an investor before the pandemic, but the steep rise in house prices is keeping us here. I'm dreading another summer here, but winters are worse as the mildrew and condensation mould gets everywhere depite the dehumid going several hours a day. It makes me laugh when tenants complain about mould and the landlord says 'open the window a bit more'. I haven't closed the bedroom or bathroom windows since 2010. Anyway, enough of me moaning, at least we have options unlike some people and will be out soon. But I'm convinced the humidity issue has damaged our health.

Tell me about it, my downstairs neighbour came home at midnight and chain-smoked outside my bedroom window, meaning I had to shut the window. Woke up this morning at it's reading 82% humidity in the bedroom! Really unpleasant. We are considering getting a camp bed so we can sleep in the kitchen where it's cool and it's not possible to smoke under the window! Hopefully there will be a storm I can look forward to in the coming week. Meanwhile, off to plant out my sweetcorn and pumpkins!

I had to plant out a lot of mature seedlings last weekend because they had become pot-bound and stopped growing. Not hopeful there will be anything left of them thanks to these gusts - and the fact that my plot is on top of an exposed hill. If I'd have known how tricky allotmenting would be this spring, I'm not sure I'd have bothered this year. It's just 10.c here too, I've known warmer December days. I can't be the only one longing for fine, warm evenings?

I've had to endure many photographs and descriptions from my family in Yorkshire this morning about how amazing their storms were last night. "like a bomb" "less then a second between...." Yes ok, thanks...enough. IS there any change in sight for this changeable weather? Seems like every day in the afternoon, the sun comes out and I look forward to visiting my polytunnel, yet by the time 5pm rolls around, I'm stuck under a huge and unproductive rain cloud! Craving a few pleasant, warm and windless days now. This cool and changeable spring hasn't helped anyone given the fact we're coming out of lockdown.

My spinach has it's first true leaves today and my strawberry patch has it's first flower - everything else is just sat in the polytunnel in pots either struggling to germinate or grow as the nights have been cold and the days chageable. It's even difficult to harden off as it's been far too windy to leave anything out. Finding growing stuff really difficult this year, mostly because of the weather. Living in a tiny flat a few miles from my allotment isn't helping. So far this year, I lost a tray of seedlings by knocking them off chair when hoovering up, a window cleaner kindly misted all my chilli seedlings with Windowlene when I lets them for an hour on a communal stairwell and lost two courgettes when I tripped up on the stairs taking them from flat to polytunnel! Not enjoying it this year, have considered giving up to be honest. Hope you're having more luck?

First thunder of the year, albeit distant (Wallingford area by the looks of it) . Fabulous! I was checking out my allotment when I heard that deep rumble that can't be anything else and my blood ran cold in a pleasant way, here's hoping for some decent storms after this awful Spring.

Oh now the weather warning for wind tomorrow has been extended northwards. Must admit I'm really fed up of the constant cold breeze - and now we have windy and wet to contend with. The allotment is already behind and the next ten days is not going to help. Nothing in the polutunnel in germinating as they nights are too cold. Like everyone, the last 14 months have been tough, I've been stuck in this pokey flat and I'd love a few pleasant and warm days where I can have some carefree days outside.

Passed three gritters on the way home...what kind if icy apocalypse are we expecting tonight???

Snowing! Settling on the roofs and cars here in the valley but I can see it settling on the ground up on the hill. What a nice surprise.

46.c in the polytunnel his afternoon, but the 0.c nights still mean it's too cold to put most seedlings in there. So they remain in the flat getting in the way of everything! Quite shocked to find it had reached -4.c in the poly as some point in the last week! Meanwhile at my sister's house in Yorkshire, the snow is settling. Had to get the hosepipe out for the first time this year as the ground is very dry, light grey and crumbly, not sure my 100 or so onion/garlic/shallots appreciate that. Hope it gets a bit warmer...but also hoping for a bit of rain! This dry, cold weather is not the gardener's friend.

There is no weather. I went and got a weather refund because there is no weather.

I've taken on some walking challenges recently just to stop me losing the plot spending another lockdown in a small flat - and I have to say walking in that easterly wind on Friday and Saturday was brutal! So cold in fact that I've ordered myself a snood/balaclava type thing as my face actually hurt. Being on top of various Chiltern hills doesn't help. Nice to experience some proper cold though and that snow/graupel showers where loads of large, ice crusted snowflakes stuck to my coat for ages was a real highlight of the cold spell. Feel like I'm done with winter now and ready for spring. It was lovely being outdoors in a bit of sun and 12.c yesterday. Really looking forward to opening the allotment up this weekend and planting tomato and chilli seeds. What are your planting plans? I'm looking for a growing challenge, something new but don't know what yet!

Went for my daily walk at lunchtime, and while it was sunny when we set off, we got caught in the most amazing snow-ish, graupel-ish shower. There was a mixture of shapes but among them, beautiful big flakes retaining their snowflake shape, albeit in a sort of icy form. This one landed on the arm of my coat and stayed there for 3 or 4 minutes unchanged - so beautiful!

I always make a home-made soup and fill up the bird feeders beforehand. After it snows I make snow lanterns by making a sort of mound of snowballs and putting a tealight inside. I recommend reading Moominland Midwinter for adults and children as it's basically all about cold and snow, and accidentally waking up and making sense of a world full of snow while you're meant to be hibernating.

Loved playing around in the snow, it broke up the boredom of the lockdown. There were 40 snowmen in the park. Small matter of getting my Dad up down the various hills to the vaccination hub at the football ground in heavy snow - but thankfully the council and fire brigade kept the roads and football ground clear and it went very smoothly!

Usually, I'm so excited by the prospect of snow...but my Dad has his covid vaccination jab on Sunday morning and I want him to get there safely.