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Posted
  • Location: wigan
  • Location: wigan

Haven't posted for a long time. But had to tell people I'm quite worried about May this year. Since I was born on normal sunny day Middle May, with 68%f, and clear sky's, May is the most settled and warm month more so than June in my 71 years. But this year has been truly more like March. High winds, unusual, cold, unusual, temps in Manchester recently below May normal added up to depressing Birthday. I would happily add. It that is the worst anomaist weather for  A May in all my lifetime. After some time of looking at windy maps. Instead of the usual normal currents from South or South West, the direction seems to be coming from the North. This is not normal for late May. 

This is not only creating problems for travelling work or outdoor events, it's having a really serious effect on our wildlife. Although we have lots of birds in our court gardens, no wood pigeons have made any nests yet, which is most unusual. Our birch trees have normally 4 nests, 1 per tree and by now chicks should be seen, as we post them every year on our Facebook page. But with 30mph winds, again not normal for inland in May, the climate is not allowing them to build nests in trees. They did start in April, but what they made has been blown away. The other serious matter that effects us all including birds is the 58% decline of insect life in our area alone. (source Lancashire Trust I am a member of).... Cold and wet weather at this time of year decimate the normal life cycles of short lived insects.  Many birds need insects as food, plus we need them to pollinate our crops and flowers we love. It's not just urbanisation which is risking a collapse of insect populations its our climate changing so rapidly we risk real crop failures and other garden greens like runner beans that  need continuous pollinating to be able to make the runner beans. 

Farther afield in France hundreds of lamps had to lit in the vineyards to save vines from unusually late frost. In other areas of Europe, for three years in a row, hundreds of workers have to climb apple trees and pollinate them by hand, an almost impossible job, why?? Because the pollinating bees have either died from frost or other environmental issues have cut their numbers by again a good 60%.

What's even more worrying is mad Putin is helping to reverse any progress we have made on co2 levels. With even the British govrrnmey poised to reopen at least two coal mines to try and boost our energy supply this winter. This of course is quite contrary of what we and  my fellow climate activists, have been protesting about for two decades now. It's NO MOW THIS MAY. Councils and gardens have been encouraged to leave areas to grow wildflowers, so more insects have access to. pollen how ever I'm still seeing households using the mower despite numerous TV adverts and other media telling everybody NOT  to mow grass until at least into June. I'm quite sad to live in this era now, it's no think like 5he fun and interest we had 50 years ago of studying beetles, logging butterflies of many k inds and exporing local ponds. I'm of the opinion our earth is dying quicker than thought even just 9 or 10 years ago. And there's no hope left now thank to Putin to curtail global temps to 1.5. I see 2.3% in a very few years, and once that rate has been reached there's no going back. 

If anyone's got any sort of plan to reverse the decline of our planet. NO PLANET B of course please let me know. Regards Mike very depressed at the moment

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Posted
  • Location: N.E. Scotland South Side Moray Firth 100m asl
  • Location: N.E. Scotland South Side Moray Firth 100m asl
17 minutes ago, AmatuerMet1963 said:

Haven't posted for a long time. But had to tell people I'm quite worried about May this year. Since I was born on normal sunny day Middle May, with 68%f, and clear sky's, May is the most settled and warm month more so than June in my 71 years. But this year has been truly more like March. High winds, unusual, cold, unusual, temps in Manchester recently below May normal added up to depressing Birthday. I would happily add. It that is the worst anomaist weather for  A May in all my lifetime. After some time of looking at windy maps. Instead of the usual normal currents from South or South West, the direction seems to be coming from the North. This is not normal for late May. 

This is not only creating problems for travelling work or outdoor events, it's having a really serious effect on our wildlife. Although we have lots of birds in our court gardens, no wood pigeons have made any nests yet, which is most unusual. Our birch trees have normally 4 nests, 1 per tree and by now chicks should be seen, as we post them every year on our Facebook page. But with 30mph winds, again not normal for inland in May, the climate is not allowing them to build nests in trees. They did start in April, but what they made has been blown away. The other serious matter that effects us all including birds is the 58% decline of insect life in our area alone. (source Lancashire Trust I am a member of).... Cold and wet weather at this time of year decimate the normal life cycles of short lived insects.  Many birds need insects as food, plus we need them to pollinate our crops and flowers we love. It's not just urbanisation which is risking a collapse of insect populations its our climate changing so rapidly we risk real crop failures and other garden greens like runner beans that  need continuous pollinating to be able to make the runner beans. 

Farther afield in France hundreds of lamps had to lit in the vineyards to save vines from unusually late frost. In other areas of Europe, for three years in a row, hundreds of workers have to climb apple trees and pollinate them by hand, an almost impossible job, why?? Because the pollinating bees have either died from frost or other environmental issues have cut their numbers by again a good 60%.

What's even more worrying is mad Putin is helping to reverse any progress we have made on co2 levels. With even the British govrrnmey poised to reopen at least two coal mines to try and boost our energy supply this winter. This of course is quite contrary of what we and  my fellow climate activists, have been protesting about for two decades now. It's NO MOW THIS MAY. Councils and gardens have been encouraged to leave areas to grow wildflowers, so more insects have access to. pollen how ever I'm still seeing households using the mower despite numerous TV adverts and other media telling everybody NOT  to mow grass until at least into June. I'm quite sad to live in this era now, it's no think like 5he fun and interest we had 50 years ago of studying beetles, logging butterflies of many k inds and exporing local ponds. I'm of the opinion our earth is dying quicker than thought even just 9 or 10 years ago. And there's no hope left now thank to Putin to curtail global temps to 1.5. I see 2.3% in a very few years, and once that rate has been reached there's no going back. 

If anyone's got any sort of plan to reverse the decline of our planet. NO PLANET B of course please let me know. Regards Mike very depressed at the moment

Have to agree with a lot of your post as same age group.

Just that in my situation  in the north of Scotland its very usual to have north and east winds in April/May /June with late season mountain snowfall as the winter  cold  polar low pressure or vortex breaks up in the spring.

These cold outbreaks are known as Lambing Storms,Gab O May etc... and are traditional to the NE of Scotland. We have one right now with the high tops near freezing and currently 7c here

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Posted
  • Location: Manchester
  • Location: Manchester

Nothing unusual about this May at all in terms of cold if you look at the historical records. It's actually been a very warm month across the country overall. Notable around the Manchester area how the nights have been warm, certainly up to a few days ago.

It has been dull but there have been Mays with much colder spells than this one. We've had a few in the recent pasts with cold spells and frosts (May 2020 had a notable cold snap despite being a warm, sunny month overall). 2021, 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2013 all had chilly periods that I can remember well. It hasn't been that windy either compared to some in the past, although I take the point that there have been a lot of breezy days.

My birthday is the 28th and yes more often than not it's been dry and fine. However I do remember a few years when it's been horrible. 2007 was a prime example when we barely got out of single figures.

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Posted
  • Location: Ireland - East Coast
  • Location: Ireland - East Coast
49 minutes ago, AmatuerMet1963 said:

Haven't posted for a long time. But had to tell people I'm quite worried about May this year. Since I was born on normal sunny day Middle May, with 68%f, and clear sky's, May is the most settled and warm month more so than June in my 71 years. But this year has been truly more like March. High winds, unusual, cold, unusual, temps in Manchester recently below May normal added up to depressing Birthday. I would happily add. It that is the worst anomaist weather for  A May in all my lifetime. After some time of looking at windy maps. Instead of the usual normal currents from South or South West, the direction seems to be coming from the North. This is not normal for late May. 

This is not only creating problems for travelling work or outdoor events, it's having a really serious effect on our wildlife. Although we have lots of birds in our court gardens, no wood pigeons have made any nests yet, which is most unusual. Our birch trees have normally 4 nests, 1 per tree and by now chicks should be seen, as we post them every year on our Facebook page. But with 30mph winds, again not normal for inland in May, the climate is not allowing them to build nests in trees. They did start in April, but what they made has been blown away. The other serious matter that effects us all including birds is the 58% decline of insect life in our area alone. (source Lancashire Trust I am a member of).... Cold and wet weather at this time of year decimate the normal life cycles of short lived insects.  Many birds need insects as food, plus we need them to pollinate our crops and flowers we love. It's not just urbanisation which is risking a collapse of insect populations its our climate changing so rapidly we risk real crop failures and other garden greens like runner beans that  need continuous pollinating to be able to make the runner beans. 

Farther afield in France hundreds of lamps had to lit in the vineyards to save vines from unusually late frost. In other areas of Europe, for three years in a row, hundreds of workers have to climb apple trees and pollinate them by hand, an almost impossible job, why?? Because the pollinating bees have either died from frost or other environmental issues have cut their numbers by again a good 60%.

What's even more worrying is mad Putin is helping to reverse any progress we have made on co2 levels. With even the British govrrnmey poised to reopen at least two coal mines to try and boost our energy supply this winter. This of course is quite contrary of what we and  my fellow climate activists, have been protesting about for two decades now. It's NO MOW THIS MAY. Councils and gardens have been encouraged to leave areas to grow wildflowers, so more insects have access to. pollen how ever I'm still seeing households using the mower despite numerous TV adverts and other media telling everybody NOT  to mow grass until at least into June. I'm quite sad to live in this era now, it's no think like 5he fun and interest we had 50 years ago of studying beetles, logging butterflies of many k inds and exporing local ponds. I'm of the opinion our earth is dying quicker than thought even just 9 or 10 years ago. And there's no hope left now thank to Putin to curtail global temps to 1.5. I see 2.3% in a very few years, and once that rate has been reached there's no going back. 

If anyone's got any sort of plan to reverse the decline of our planet. NO PLANET B of course please let me know. Regards Mike very depressed at the moment

Don't despair. Couple of things. I am very late 40's and a keen gardener. I have a varied Garden and have left a lot of grass uncut this May, in addition loads of area left totally wild anyway. I never treat my lawn with weedkillers and nitrogen. It is full of all sorts of wild plants. However, all the elderly neighbours treat with lawn week and "feed" and run around with their round up. I am sorry to say this, but that generation are responsible for the mass reduction in garden source wildlife in my opinion. Once it became affordable in the 80's off they went with mass application of chemicals. Kill them all, slugs, snails, weeds etc. Death to dandelions in early spring, even if these plants enrich the soil and clear off after a few years of bringing up minerals to the surface. Next generation are more likley to be sympathetic and will improve these ways. However, they are also if they have the cash doing crazy hard scaping and the likes which is counter productive, but in general far more aware of the sympathy needed to have a balanced garden for nature. 

With respect to May, Both local official weather stations show May 1.3 to 1.5 abouve mean for the month and rainfall slightly lower than mean. I think the lack of steeled weather and high daytime temps on the odd Day has been missed, but good weather for the native species. Most native bees like it normal believe it or not. Native bumble bees are hairy for a reason. 

 

I too am very concerned, but I will not despair yet. 

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Posted
  • Location: wigan
  • Location: wigan
7 minutes ago, Downburst said:

Don't despair. Couple of things. I am very late 40's and a keen gardener. I have a varied Garden and have left a lot of grass uncut this May, in addition loads of area left totally wild anyway. I never treat my lawn with weedkillers and nitrogen. It is full of all sorts of wild plants. However, all the elderly neighbours treat with lawn week and "feed" and run around with their round up. I am sorry to say this, but that generation are responsible for the mass reduction in garden source wildlife in my opinion. Once it became affordable in the 80's off they went with mass application of chemicals. Kill them all, slugs, snails, weeds etc. Death to dandelions in early spring, even if these plants enrich the soil and clear off after a few years of bringing up minerals to the surface. Next generation are more likley to be sympathetic and will improve these ways. However, they are also if they have the cash doing crazy hard scaping and the likes which is counter productive, but in general far more aware of the sympathy needed to have a balanced garden for nature. 

With respect to May, Both local official weather stations show May 1.3 to 1.5 abouve mean for the month and rainfall slightly lower than mean. I think the lack of steeled weather and high daytime temps on the odd Day has been missed, but good weather for the native species. Most native bees like it normal believe it or not. Native bumble bees are hairy for a reason. 

 

I too am very concerned, but I will not despair yet. 

Well all our tree growth and shrubs have for the second year running been very slow with barely a catkin on our birch trees until beginning of May. Even now they look terrible with warped leaves, not growing as quickly as they should. I put that down to frost we had then. So there's very little thick vegetation for our birds to make nests. But I stand by the fact that May has Always Benn the most dry and calm and warm month of them all. Even paddling in the sea at my new home town of Eastbourne in the late sixties and early eighties. I'm  tennis fan so I used to attend the Devonshire Park event every year. In the 45 years I been going there, not once has it ever been called off because of rain. It just didn't happen, plenty of storms drifting in from France, but still, rain was only seen in storms and not go on for days like The Nort West. Its no wonder resorts like Blackpool we lived in for 23 years never gets rich because the weather just curtails holiday makers All I see here in Wigan is rain rain, uncomfortable humidity and vehicle pollution that increases the greenhouse effect by a value of about 20%over the normal for a seaside resort. 

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Posted
  • Location: N.E. Scotland South Side Moray Firth 100m asl
  • Location: N.E. Scotland South Side Moray Firth 100m asl
1 hour ago, Northernlights said:

Have to agree with a lot of your post as same age group.

Just that in my situation  in the north of Scotland its very usual to have north and east winds in April/May /June with late season mountain snowfall as the winter  cold  polar low pressure or vortex breaks up in the spring.

These cold outbreaks are known as Lambing Storms,Gab O May etc... and are traditional to the NE of Scotland. We have one right now with the high tops near freezing and currently 7c here

Just to add ash trees are only just now at bud opening very traditional for them to come into leaf in June .Also this May has been much warmer in general than last May when parsnips sown in early May failed to germinate and had to be resown in   June.  Also red clover in grazing/mowing fields has got going well too .Normally late as its a heat loving plant.

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Posted
  • Location: wigan
  • Location: wigan
18 minutes ago, Downburst said:

Don't despair. Couple of things. I am very late 40's and a keen gardener. I have a varied Garden and have left a lot of grass uncut this May, in addition loads of area left totally wild anyway. I never treat my lawn with weedkillers and nitrogen. It is full of all sorts of wild plants. However, all the elderly neighbours treat with lawn week and "feed" and run around with their round up. I am sorry to say this, but that generation are responsible for the mass reduction in garden source wildlife in my opinion. Once it became affordable in the 80's off they went with mass application of chemicals. Kill them all, slugs, snails, weeds etc. Death to dandelions in early spring, even if these plants enrich the soil and clear off after a few years of bringing up minerals to the surface. Next generation are more likley to be sympathetic and will improve these ways. However, they are also if they have the cash doing crazy hard scaping and the likes which is counter productive, but in general far more aware of the sympathy needed to have a balanced garden for nature. 

With respect to May, Both local official weather stations show May 1.3 to 1.5 abouve mean for the month and rainfall slightly lower than mean. I think the lack of steeled weather and high daytime temps on the odd Day has been missed, but good weather for the native species. Most native bees like it normal believe it or not. Native bumble bees are hairy for a reason. 

 

I too am very concerned, but I will not despair yet. 

One thing I'm pleased about but will take years to make any effect. Is the ban on slug pellets. You don't need them if we let thrushes increase there number, they are the most effective natural way. And I actually saw Mrs thrush in one of our birch trees only a week ago. That's first time I seen any thrush since 2015. Black birds singing in the calm may evenings was so relaxing. But that's  rare. I mean it's poured of rain every damn day this week. All they can say on forecasts is we get 22% and dry, until you note their making a general synopsis only including London. The last laast time me we had anything of that temp was a long time like 2020 in lock down. I just heard its only 55%f today here. Far to cold gor chicks far to cold for insects. 55% at this time of year for England is an anomaly, and last night 5he bloody radiators came on, even though they are off. That shows you the anomaly is here and getting worse. What if we have a winter like we had in the seventies, temps hovered at freezing point all day. See government's are useless.  In my days we had three sourse of heat and energy. Electric, gas, and our coal fires that heated the back boiler. I went through 3 months of the 63 winter with ice floes around Eastbourne pier with 12feet of snow on the prom. What this country do in the midst of a big freeze??? 

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Posted
  • Location: Horsham
  • Weather Preferences: Anything non-disruptive, and some variety
  • Location: Horsham
33 minutes ago, AmatuerMet1963 said:

One thing I'm pleased about but will take years to make any effect. Is the ban on slug pellets. You don't need them if we let thrushes increase there number, they are the most effective natural way. And I actually saw Mrs thrush in one of our birch trees only a week ago. That's first time I seen any thrush since 2015. Black birds singing in the calm may evenings was so relaxing. But that's  rare. I mean it's poured of rain every damn day this week. All they can say on forecasts is we get 22% and dry, until you note their making a general synopsis only including London. The last laast time me we had anything of that temp was a long time like 2020 in lock down. I just heard its only 55%f today here. Far to cold gor chicks far to cold for insects. 55% at this time of year for England is an anomaly, and last night 5he bloody radiators came on, even though they are off. That shows you the anomaly is here and getting worse. What if we have a winter like we had in the seventies, temps hovered at freezing point all day. See government's are useless.  In my days we had three sourse of heat and energy. Electric, gas, and our coal fires that heated the back boiler. I went through 3 months of the 63 winter with ice floes around Eastbourne pier with 12feet of snow on the prom. What this country do in the midst of a big freeze??? 

It is a myth that in any artificial environment like a garden or allotment, you can ever keep slug damage down to levels where the plants can withstand it. On my allotment, I don't use pellets or chemicals, apply slug nematodes in mid spring, and put copper rings around transplants, and my brassicas still get wrecked. The plants we choose for their decorative value in our gardens are generally not up to withstanding pest attacks, because they have been bred to look pretty, not to be resiliant, and/or they are not native to our climate and conditions. When it comes to growing vegetables, the varieties we grow have been bred for flavour, and selective breeding of food crops for flavour also makes them more attractive to pests. In the wild, plants release bitter chemicals which discourages pest attacks, we breed that out of them then spend the growing season keeping them protected by whatever means available. There is a pond on the community allotment which is next to my plot, and I do get frogs and toads on my plot which helps a bit with slugs, but the reality is they can't make a dent in the overall numbers, since firstly there are so many, and secondly, 99% of the slugs which eat your crops are underground, which surface predators and slug pellets will never catch.

Your last sentences about winter are absurd. I don't believe there was ever 12 feet of snow on Eastbourne's promenade, that is known as massive exaggeration, like people who claim it was -30C somewhere in England (yes I have seen this stated). We have had freezing winter weather for much of December 2010 where in my area, the snow was on the ground most of the month, the daytime temperature was frequently sub-zero, and the CET was below freezing, and was the coldest December for 100 years. Here in the SE, often accused of being terrible at coping with freezing conditions, we managed fine. I managed to get to work by car or bicycle despite my workplace being 10 miles away up in the Surrey hills, only accessible by untreated narrow country lanes. I've pretty much always managed during any winter cold spell, although it has been a nuisance when the trains get badly disrupted or my social activities get cancelled because the delicate pensioners who supposedly lived through Canadian-style winters in their day can't go to the bridge club because it is too dangerours for them. It is tiresome myth that the country grinds to a halt when it snows. 60-70 years ago, people lived a lot closer to work and shops since cars were not as widespread as today, and simple modes of transport like walking and cycling are more resistant to extremes. Today, people choose to live 50-100 miles from their place of work which makes them vulnerable to transport disruption from adverse weather conditions. I doubt many people would want to go back to a life where they had to live locally, every winter cold spell in the absence of central heating was brutal, and winter mortality was well above what it is today. 

 

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Posted
  • Location: wigan
  • Location: wigan
36 minutes ago, al78 said:

It is a myth that in any artificial environment like a garden or allotment, you can ever keep slug damage down to levels where the plants can withstand it. On my allotment, I don't use pellets or chemicals, apply slug nematodes in mid spring, and put copper rings around transplants, and my brassicas still get wrecked. The plants we choose for their decorative value in our gardens are generally not up to withstanding pest attacks, because they have been bred to look pretty, not to be resiliant, and/or they are not native to our climate and conditions. When it comes to growing vegetables, the varieties we grow have been bred for flavour, and selective breeding of food crops for flavour also makes them more attractive to pests. In the wild, plants release bitter chemicals which discourages pest attacks, we breed that out of them then spend the growing season keeping them protected by whatever means available. There is a pond on the community allotment which is next to my plot, and I do get frogs and toads on my plot which helps a bit with slugs, but the reality is they can't make a dent in the overall numbers, since firstly there are so many, and secondly, 99% of the slugs which eat your crops are underground, which surface predators and slug pellets will never catch.

Your last sentences about winter are absurd. I don't believe there was ever 12 feet of snow on Eastbourne's promenade, that is known as massive exaggeration, like people who claim it was -30C somewhere in England (yes I have seen this stated). We have had freezing winter weather for much of December 2010 where in my area, the snow was on the ground most of the month, the daytime temperature was frequently sub-zero, and the CET was below freezing, and was the coldest December for 100 years. Here in the SE, often accused of being terrible at coping with freezing conditions, we managed fine. I managed to get to work by car or bicycle despite my workplace being 10 miles away up in the Surrey hills, only accessible by untreated narrow country lanes. I've pretty much always managed during any winter cold spell, although it has been a nuisance when the trains get badly disrupted or my social activities get cancelled because the delicate pensioners who supposedly lived through Canadian-style winters in their day can't go to the bridge club because it is too dangerours for them. It is tiresome myth that the country grinds to a halt when it snows. 60-70 years ago, people lived a lot closer to work and shops since cars were not as widespread as today, and simple modes of transport like walking and cycling are more resistant to extremes. Today, people choose to live 50-100 miles from their place of work which makes them vulnerable to transport disruption from adverse weather conditions. I doubt many people would want to go back to a life where they had to live locally, every winter cold spell in the absence of central heating was brutal, and winter mortality was well above what it is today. 

 

Oh it was 12 feet alright my friend, but let me correct that as a drift of 12 feet!! not lying snow, that along our prom was 7feet because me and my school friends measured it, the height of the prom near the Redoubt is 5-6 foot, well the snow was well over that, and in our wellies. it was incredibly dangerous, because you couldn't actually see where the edge to the road disappeared.. but lets talk about exaggeration. In Kent there were actual snow drifts and lying snow on top of railways engines you could walk in thats 15 feet or more. You can see for yourself on Chris Packhams introduction to the special program by the BBC hosted by Cliff Michelmore. you can find it on utube here.   However your comments about 2010 are very general, and geographically we saw no snow in the Northwest town of Blackpool where we lived for 23 years. we had 2 inches of light snow overnight, then just bright sunny days with temps no higher than zero, Ice was a real danger all day. it was the only time I actually got a cold weather payment from the DWP. your other comments are interesting ,my father and me tended a huge allotment at the rear of Eastbourne's dyke and green area. we grew lovely veg and flowers i sold to guest house, like our 20 feet long line of sweet peas, I mean the real sweet peas with a heavenly fragrance. dad grew potatoes brassica, Runner beans and Strawberries enough to make a small holding business out of it, but the most thing i noticed was the abundant of insects enjoying pollinating the fruit and flowers. in my area, there is hardly any insects now.  Our home had a large greenhouse so we grew cucumber plants and lots of tomatos, which we also sold on to our neighbours along our street which like my mum turned our huge house into "Swan House" her own Guest house. many people have never tasted a potato , straight out of the ground, they dont know what they are missing. !!As far as messing with flowers trying to look pretty instead of being resilient is a good comment i would support. but back then we had dozens of Thrushes in our back garden cracking open huge numbers of snails on their little f;at block of stone. I found back then , despite the South East was warmer, Mildew was more  of a problem than pests. Countless gooseberry's had to be destroyed, Roses suffered from attacks from Aphids, but again nature has the answer, "Ants"...ypu could watch ants walking up the stems pinching or loading aphids and going back down again to the soil. greenhouse was different and had to use a soapy water in a spray bottle. my mother banned us using any pesticide or chemicals, even though i worked years in Garden centre, and was proudly picked by my manager to accompany Mr Percy Thrower on his days ICI product day or Bring a plant in day at our local giant Eastbourne Louis G ford store. yes managed fine in Eastbourne locally,but father sufffered as he was a unigate milkman with no doors on his float, he had snaow chains put on it, for weeks on end... but coal became scarce, and water burst pipes were everywhere, I used my sledge with two gallon cans My father told me to take to the ironmongers to fill up with paraffin, because we had no heating upstairs, and it was a 4 bedroomed house, so we had two paraffin heaters on the top landings, and some paraffin for the greenhouse heater. In 1963 electric heating was mostly not invented, mainy, because the old rubber wiring would never carry the current of todays mobile heaters. and our house was 1959 electrics, until in 1967 father managed to save enough to have a rewire, and replace all the lead water pipes. Thanks for an interesting reply

 

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Posted
  • Location: Manchester
  • Location: Manchester
2 hours ago, AmatuerMet1963 said:

Well all our tree growth and shrubs have for the second year running been very slow with barely a catkin on our birch trees until beginning of May. Even now they look terrible with warped leaves, not growing as quickly as they should. I put that down to frost we had then. So there's very little thick vegetation for our birds to make nests. But I stand by the fact that May has Always Benn the most dry and calm and warm month of them all. Even paddling in the sea at my new home town of Eastbourne in the late sixties and early eighties. I'm  tennis fan so I used to attend the Devonshire Park event every year. In the 45 years I been going there, not once has it ever been called off because of rain. It just didn't happen, plenty of storms drifting in from France, but still, rain was only seen in storms and not go on for days like The Nort West. Its no wonder resorts like Blackpool we lived in for 23 years never gets rich because the weather just curtails holiday makers All I see here in Wigan is rain rain, uncomfortable humidity and vehicle pollution that increases the greenhouse effect by a value of about 20%over the normal for a seaside resort. 

Have a look at Trevor Harley's summary of past Mays- you'll see that there were plenty of wet Mays in the past: 

WWW.TREVORHARLEY.COM

I think remembering May as always being warm and dry is selective memory. The wet Mays tend to be forgettable while we remember the warm, dry ones.

Eastbourne is of course drier and sunnier than NW England on average.

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Posted
  • Location: Ireland - East Coast
  • Location: Ireland - East Coast

The weather can never really be perfect on all front. But on wet May days over the last number of years I repeat to myself something I heard my late father say on a rainy day in the kitchen many years ago, "A wet and windy May fills the barns with corn and hay'' this is a well known saying and it helps to see the usefulness of the rain.

 

I think that the fuel prices for home and transport is having a mass psychosis on populations. I think that everyone, or nearly everyone was relieved to see May come in and the notion they could turn of the heating and forget about the costs. Well since we haven't had a notable "Summer" heatwave and it is still chilly at times it on some level is causing angst. A good weekend coming up and into June and we'll soon forget it. Plus the ground will warm up and we'll see growth like we've never seen before. 

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Posted
  • Location: wigan
  • Location: wigan
7 hours ago, Scorcher said:

Have a look at Trevor Harley's summary of past Mays- you'll see that there were plenty of wet Mays in the past: 

WWW.TREVORHARLEY.COM

I think remembering May as always being warm and dry is selective memory. The wet Mays tend to be forgettable while we remember the warm, dry ones.

Eastbourne is of course drier and sunnier than NW England on average.

Well I never knew that, because 45 years of my life were spent in seaside towns where i would fish all day. Seaford, Newhaven Breakwater, Eastbourne Pier in school holidays, I also lived in West Wales coast,  overlooking  Milford Haven. I became a Pembrokeshire national park warden for some years. the times I sailed on the Pembs  boat to Skomer Island watching the fish swimming below us was magical. until it was to late to to find the finance to move back in 97.   Its was called the suntrap of the South coast many times. Im just fed up with being in the N West where the weather has some argument with me, its so different from the South Coast, and  on muggy days here I suffer from lethargy, headaches, lack of fresh sea air or negative irons Im used to. II tried winning the lottery, afraid that hasnt worked for 10 years lol now. my old home in Eastbourne, which was mums dream of owning a Guest house was bought in 1959 For just £12,500  4 beds three reception, two door porch, walled garden loo and bathroom and another loo outside attached to the building it had 8 chimneys and every room had a fire place, Im told its price is now around £375,000....!!!! Insane, Well i didn't see very many wet Mays they were almost none existent in my patch, apart from really violent storms that one  one summer in 1983, a thunderbolt and a water tornado hit, it hit a chimney stack now more than 800 yards away, it broke off , burst into flames, it knocked out three blocks of power, our hired new colour tv from Vision hire had no turning panel left, it went up in smoke, while 4 sockets blew out the plugs and was left smoking, so scary was the clap, our two dogs were never the same, and was quite ill every time they heard thunder, or fireworks in November, so we put the radiogram up high to drown out the noise. Hastings also got battered by almost super cell thunderstorms, the road that steeply climbs out on the A259 to Rye, had a huge hole left in the middle of road by a lightning bolt. My father was a toll keeper before I was born he would tell me of lightning striking the water, water spouts galore and even the odd porpoise pod, probably looking for mackerel. Its quite sad there is no Mackeral on the N west coast I when I lived in Blackpool at high tide i took my flys along with a good rod, but when  I asked when do the mackerel come ashore, before or after peak high tide, only to be told, "There aint no mackerel to be caught from here lad", and never found out why not to be honest. oh well, cant help but remember my memories of better times, when the earth was still green, cars were few, and we all walked to school and into shopping centres with no car parks. 

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