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

Hello, Rosa.

I hope you're feeling better.

The weather has been hitting me rather hard too, a third of the world away (~8000 miles).

Had my worst gout pains since 2007 in the left great toe last night and the right is acting up now.

My sister has the fibro myalgia too, so I've some idea what you may be going through.

Reading your material is a always a bright moment for me and I hope weather levels off soon.

Hello ITIWBS,

Thank you for your very kind concern and for your thoughtful words. I am keeping well and I hope that the weather is not too cold where you are. I have experienced how debilitating gout can be from my Dad. He used to get it very bad when used to live in the Northumbrian town of Ashington which is 3 miles away from the sea. The horse we lived in was also very damp.

The weather has been two degrees warmer than normal in the UK but there has been either been light to moderate rain and/or wind.

Thank you for your kind praise and compliments.

The weather has been strange here as well, rather unsettled, warmer than usual for this time of the year, usually over 100F/38C, dropping at night to below 70F/20C approximately every 4th and 5th night.

I've been getting migrating pains in the toes.

Pains in the toes usually mean expect rain, though usually its all the toes at once, pains in the fingers, expect a freeze, but I don't see a sign of either in offing at the moment.

Sometimes I yearn for the good old days when rain came reliably as clockwork on Sep. 17, day time temperatures generally below 90F/32C thereafter.

The highest temperature that I can tolerate is 20C. My hands swell in the heat. According to the weather analysts, September was the second wettest on record. I have got small bunions which can be painful. October was 2 degrees warmer than usual.