h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Late last night I hung a load of washing outside, fully expecting it to be dry by the morning. It normally is.

Just been woken by the most tremendous tropical rainstorm, complete with thunder and lightening. This is only the second time in five weeks that it has rained here, but the first real rains of the winter. My, it rained! The sound of the rain on the glass roof was so enormously loud that it drowned out the sound of the thunder.

I am not nervous of thunder, but it is hard not to be a little jumpy when your bed is actually shaking whenever the clap of thunder occurs simultaneously with the flash of lightening. The full fury of the storm was shaking the island, and my bedroom, sunk as it is into the volcanic rock no longer felt impenetrable and protected.

Ferocious storms like this were once rare, but now have become so frequent that millions of Euros have been invested in an enormous civil engineering project, whereby storm drains have had to be installed throughout the island.

These are some photos I took earlier this year, at one point it seemed like th whole town was being dug up, to put these drains in.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/shirleyannbaby/CivilEngineeringNewDrains2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCOaw1OSYsIyDOw#

I hope they have worked! These new rainstorms (climate change sort) turned the local streets into rivers, and the old drainage system immediately overflowed, with resulting drain water and sewer water flooding the beaches. The 'Blue Flag' status is immediately removed whenever pollution like this occurs - so it was vital to address this problem as this island is dependent on tourism.

Of course the houses here don't have gutters or pitched roofs. In the past the old houses captured every drop of rain, by directing the water from the flat roof into an underground cistern.

Just now the rainwater is gushing off my flat roof, falling into the gardens below, it sounds like a water fall. The thunder storm has run out of energy and rolled away somewhere else. It's still pitch black here (7.15 am), but dawn will arrive soon so I can rescue my washing, and my cushions and other stuff I left on the balcony

Cor lady! Scary biscuits!

Glad you're ok. How are your cushions? Soggy i'll bet!

Dripping! Ugh. It's only rainwater though and they'll soon dry out.

I do love a nice big storm though... well so long as I'm inside in the warm whilst Its happening tis freezing here today

and here!

i would prefer a tropical storm like what you described to the weather we are having here

after all lanzarote sounds like the perfect place to live most of the year

Glad to hear your roof held up under the storm. My sister used to have a vacation place in the Bahamas and one time they faced a hurricane with 115mph winds. Now that is scary.
Meanwhile here in Michigan people have to drive a little different when the first winter storms hit (which they did this week)
so the tow truck drivers were busy clearing up several multi-car accidents.

Strangely there have been a few hurricanes here in recent years. Before the climate started to change this was unheard of.

Now, sand storms, they are something else. I just think of hunkering down next to your camel, with a tea towel over your face when that happens. Hot winds, full of the Sahara. Actually really unpleasant as the air gets so hot and dusty your lungs start to clog up.
They call them 'calimas' and we are getting far more of them these days as well. They are very bad for people with breathing problems.

I've just swabbed down the tiles on the balcony, and my door mat is draped over the edge, dripping into the garden below. All my cushions are still squishy wet, so I've nothing to sit on outside. I've got lovely clean tiles too

I really should go out and buy some Christmas presents - trying to get into the mood.

i got out of the mood unscathed. never had to go shopping for xmas presents me. two were delivered on my doorstep so to speak and the rest is taken care of

i did however manage to buy a huge pork roast which i will somehow have to transport to my old home town. i hope the train will not let me down

It could have been worse, lanzababy. The rainstorm and the sandstorm could have combined forces to give you a mudstorm!

To me that sounds brilliant lanza. I like intense weather events, providing they don't go too far and cause actual damage to the home, eg like the recent floods up north in the UK, I really feel for those people. But otherwise I love a good storm...especially just the right side of scary, like as you said when the thunder clap comes just fractionally after the lightening and you know its pretty much overhead

But I'm glad you're okay

Oh no! someone mentioned.... the C word... with the ... S... word... I'm going to have to do some of that too arn't I at some point, no matter how much I try to resist I'm going to have to be forced... to go ... (I can't say it)... to go.... Christmas Shopping ther eI said it.... I said it and I didn't die

Agreed; I love the storms we get when I'm at my Dads, as he's near the coast, you just get better thunder and lightening there than you do inland

I'm doing most of my C S shopping online or by mail this year. I really don't want to confront those massive crowds.

I'm kinda lucky as I only ever really buy a couple of presents for a few family, but as I always head off over to my Father's for Christmas, I'm never organised enough to order stuff online and get it here for me to take back... So I end up being one of those on Christmas eve or the twenty third, wondering through the high street looking agast at all the other shoppers, and cursing them for all leaving it to the last minute

Well, it seems to have stopped raining, so maybe I am going to go shopping. Yes, now. Before the mood evaporates.

I'm proud of ya! Can you pick me up some milk, twenty cigarettes, and a really large choc bar whilst your out?; oo and one of those frozen choc gataux things

I'd love to say 'You have mail' 2legs, and the milk cigs and choc would arrive, just like that.

Well, I did buy one present, and have decided on another one which I will go back to the shop tomorrow to buy. So that's two down!

I heard on the radio that there are going to be a load of shooting stars visible tonight. Am not sure whether that meant just in the UK, so will keep a look out later on as it has just clouded over again. Normally I can see some really clear stars, but haven't the foggiest what they are as they look different from the ones back home. I'll probably fall asleep before I remember to look out again.

I'm still excited about the fact that there is a blue moon this month, (see Galaxy Babe's article in for more info)

I asked my daughter what she wanted for Christmas and she said she wanted me to go and get her some hot rocks from the volcanoes. Hmmm.

Hot rocks? I always thought those were the bits of hot ghanja that falls out of a spliff.... or something to do with crack cocaine
I relaly oughta be thinking about going on a starvation diet for the next week... or a bit under, just before I go to my Dads for Christmas... once I@m back there, its like a non-stop baconfestavil with a cakefestavil and sausagerollfestavil and well foodGlutanyfestavil with a huge beerfest on the side it takes me the rest of the year to loose the weight I put on after a fortnight over Christmas and new year at my Dads... hmm... did I just say bacon?

I'm sure I've put weight on, even though I have been eating less than normal. By rights I should be skinny, but I just looked at myself in a top I've not worn for a while and it seems that it's either shrunk or I have gained a few inches

This year coming... 2010 will be the year I finally get down to a sensible weight... I'm pretty sure I've said that very same thing though for at least the last five years but I really think this year coming is the year... poor ickle piggies...I'll have to cut the bacon I mean cut down* on the bacon and cheese... and butter... and toast... and pies... and filled rolls from the bakery but not until after Christmas and I've put on probably about a stone

What is a sensible weight anyway? Chances are, it's different for each person. You can be thin and sickly. You can be fat and healthy. I know of centenarians who were quite pudgy, and other centenarians who were very thin.

If you prefer to go by the averages, consider that men spend the first thirty years of adulthood gaining weight, followed by a slow decline. If you're in your fifties, your appetite is probably going to slowly fade, along with your weight. Unless you aren't typical, which is also possible.