Tag Archives: weather

The Swakopmund beach fog

Thursday 18th April 2024, 8.50am (day 4,620)

Swakopmund beach fog, 18/4/24

I was forewarned about the fogs that affect the coast of Namibia. The Benguela current sweeps cold water up from Antarctica, and as it passes the African coast it mixes with the warm air coming off the continent. But just because I understand the climatology doesn’t mean that the actual experience of the fog hasn’t come as a surprise because they really are bloody cold; the mornings and evenings here in Swakopmund have not at all been like one might imagine an African beach holiday, more like Morecambe in November. These two swimmers must be seriously hardy.

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Dull morning

Friday 5th April 2024, 8.25am (day 4,607)

Dull Manchester, 5/4/24

The sun still seems uninterested in putting in an appearance, and this picture seems to epitomise the general colouring of the UK at this time. Manchester did get a bit more interesting for me later, but that still doesn’t mean it became sunny.

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Easter Monday, day out

Monday 1st April 2024, 3.10pm (day 4,603)

Rain at Brighouse, 1/4/24

This family (I suspect, a boy and his grandparents) were not the only ones wondering what they were doing outside this afternoon — particularly watching Brighouse Town, who slumped to a 1-5 home defeat. For the last 60% of April 2024 I will be somewhere with better (and certainly drier) weather than here — but I’m not there yet.

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Mist in the valley

Tuesday 12th March 2024, 11.20am (day 4,583)

Amongst other things that 2024 has lacked (like, my teaching, a ceasefire), I do not yet recall one of those ‘first day of spring’ moments: the kind of day, in England anyway, where it suddenly warms up, the sun starts shining and everything goes, ‘Hello….’. If it has already happened, I missed it. And 12/3/24 wasn’t it either.

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Llandudno (the only sunny place in the UK?)

Monday 11th March 2024, 11.15am (day 4,582)

Llandudno, from air, 11/3/24

Having had the chance to survey reasonably large portions of Ulster, the Irish Sea, North Wales and bits of north-west England on my flight home — I would like to declare that at 11:15 this morning, Llandudno and the Great Orme, both definitely depicted here, constituted the only part of this whole slab of the world that could possibly be seeing any sunshine.

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Skiddaw in cloud

Monday 26th February 2024, 12.30pm (day 4,568)

Skiddaw, 26/2/24

This shot was actually incidental to the walk I completed today — my penultimate Wainwright walk, unless there is some big change of plan between now and, say, the next month. Skiddaw was nowhere near where I was. But — it looks so good here. All macho and domineering, despite its sheen of snowy white. Would that we could all look so good at a few million years old.

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Looking west from the CN Tower

Monday 5th February 2024, 2.30pm (day 4,547)

CN Tower view, 5/2/24

Time to return to the CN Tower, still the tallest ‘free-standing structure’ outside Asia, and as I did successfully get up it this time, the highest I have ever been above ground in a building. The Skypod observation deck is still 330 feet further above the main deck, from where I took this picture, so this is about 1,130 feet, looking west along the shore of Lake Ontario, the distant towers are in the suburb of Mississauga I think. The CN is basically a glorified bar-café-restaurant, but it does have a damn good view. It’s the tallest thing around by such a margin that everything else just looks tiny.

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The CN Tower, attempt 1 (aborted)

Thursday 1st February 2024, 1.40pm (day 4,543)

CN Tower in cloud, 1/2/24

Not as exciting a photo as was planned for the day, and certainly a less extensive panorama, but the reasons for this can be gathered by inspection of the top of the picture. The observation decks of the CN Tower (still the tallest building in the world outside of Asia) were swathed in cloud, making the jaunt to the top, if not pointless, then rather less of an attraction than it might have been. But the woman on the gate did advise me that I could just reschedule my timed ticket for another day — which was very civilised of her (some major tourist attractions would have just said ‘tough shit, sucker, lump it’). So I shall return on Monday. And if it’s cloudy then?…. it will be what it will be.

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Green light for more rain

Sunday 21st January 2024, 5.20pm (day 4,532)

Rain and green light, 21/1/24

Well, it was quite nice for a day or two. It didn’t last. This picture was chosen for today, in part, because Clare insisted I not use the one of her putting on her slippers, but nevertheless this does epitomise the day.

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January afternoon

Friday 19th January 2024, 3.25pm (day 4,530)

January afternoon, 19/1/24

Sometimes days slip into the past so quickly: I post this on Sunday morning and couldn’t really tell you very much about what happened on Friday. I worked, basically. And it was cold, still. Although I know that some forty-three hours later, all the snow has gone.

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