Flood

I walked across Gledhow Valley to visit the Communist in the nursing home on Wednesday.

The valley is the kind that they use to demonstrate the phrase "V-shaped valley" in geography lessons. Both sides are very steep, and a little tranquil stream runs along the bottom. One side, rather coyly - and somewhat over-dramatically - known as Little Switzerland, is covered in woodland: the other side is covered in nasty 1960s flats and other buildings.

The woodland side is very pretty and a haven for wildlife in the city - we once saw a deer there.

On Wednesday, however, after all the recent heavy rain, the landscape had changed somewhat. The woodland glade at the bottom of the valley was now a pond:
And here is the little stream, seen from a bridge above it:

I've known this woodland since I was three and I've never seen it like that before.

Then, last night, I saw on television some film of the very cold winter of 1947. Massive drifts of snow: sheep buried, whole landscapes turned white. We just don't get that any more. Emily's never seen snow deeper than a few inches, and she's nearly eighteen.

Whether it's caused by global warming from greenhouse gases (and I bet it is) or just natural climate change, it's strange that the weather has changed so much over a relatively short period. I reckon the dinosaurs had a few conversations along those lines too.