Donner und Blitzen

Today

It seems that the better our weather forecasting technology is, the more the forecast changes. Yesterday's forecast for today in this area showed thunderstorms. Today, there's no sign of this prediction, just more rain. "They're always doing that", I grumbled to Paul. "I haven't had a good thunderstorm for years."

In My Day

As a child I was terrified of thunderstorms and it seemed that we had a good few in 1950s London. Hot and sticky days would reach a climax with heavy mauve clouds filling the sky. Probably my older brothers had filled my head with tales of people being struck by lightning and given me useful advice about not sheltering under trees (how could I avoid it when the entire garden was filled with huge trees?) and wearing (or was it not wearing?) rubber-soled shoes, so I was primed for fear.

Often the storm would start in the middle of the night. I'd wake, transfixed with terror as the first rumble sounded. As it approached our location I would make the decision. Just about the only thing that would induce me to venture out into our ghost-filled house at night was a storm. Straight into my parents' bedroom I'd go and climb into their bed. They slept at that time on 2 beds pushed together and I would crawl into the "crack" in the middle and lie there, still afraid but also comforted, until the last rumble died away. I would watch bolts of lightning strike the lawn and listen, trembling, as the thunder cracked around. Mamma and Daddy offered me no especial attention; they just made room for me and then went on sleeping.

One evening, I guess I was about ten, there was an enormous storm. Daddy was in charge, Mamma being at the Proms, and he decided to switch out the lights and stand with us to watch the storm. He taught us how to estimate the distance of the storm by counting the number of seconds between flash and rumble (five  for one mile apparently, and calculated by saying "one, Dulwich College, two Dulwich College" and so on to ensure the second was given full value).

Encircled by my family, I somehow lost my fear and began to enjoy the spectacle.

There is still much rubbish talked about storms; one of my favourite being a remark by Paul's Mum "You mustn't run during a storm; it's the most dangerous thing you can do." As though the storm was a malevolent beast chasing you down the street.

Thunderstorms seem rarer these days and I rather miss them.