Mid 60s, Upware, Cambs. Early March, totally nondescript day, about 9 degrees C. Fishing with my dad on the Cam. I was 15 or 16 I would think
It's the fens, flat as a pancake. The light cloud & drizzle gave way to a milky sun - no change in temp. - & I was concentrating on the fishing (poor) & immersed in the landscape, wildlife, my own thoughts.
I can't remember what I noticed first, the birds going quiet, the slight breeze dropping, the noise, or the first visible signs on the horizon.
Being so flat you can see for miles, & something odd was happening. There was a blackness approaching from the west, a total contrast to the hazy blue in front of it. Then I realised it wasn't just uniform, but split into distinct parts, an army heading towards us. As it closed in you could hear a continuous booming, see the lightning flickering within each malestrom - you could see the vortex structure as the nearest one reached us, & suddenly everything went sideways.
We were sitting under metal framed fishing umbrellas. In a completely flat landscape. As the lightning came down me & my dad panicked a bit; I can't remember if we sat it out or rushed for the car, but I do know I was terrified (& we didn't get hit!).
Unsurprisingly I dreamt about that storm, possibly the scariest dream of my life. The funny thing was it was in a different landscape - I was stumbling along a ridge with trees - & from the cloud I heard a voice, which was as ridiculous as it was frightening. You see there was a programme on the radio called the Billy Cotton Band Show, on Sundays, & every week there'd be a totally silly interlude of a minute or two when some 50s type sci-fi electronic music would start up & a voice (allegedly from a UFO) would say to Billy "hey you, you down there with the glasses .." & a short & daft conversation would ensue.
Anyway, this voice said " hey you, you down there .. now listen to me ..."
And I woke up. Sweating.
