"THE RAIN IT RAINETH EVERY DAY"

When with great reluctance I got out of bed this morning and upon opening the curtains found myself staring out at one of the filthiest mornings of the year I almost climbed straight back into bed. Indeed I would defiantly have done so had not Pa's need to be dispatched to hospital for and early appointment and the immanent arrival man who comes to service the gas boiler made such a thing impossible. Sheets of grey rain slanted across the garden from a slate grey sky and the weather forecast held out little hope of change during the rest of the day. Feeling rusty I made coffee for Pa and I and set about pushing the elephant up the mountain with all the haste and enthusiasm of a man walking to the gallows. I had spent a good deal of the night awake making hot drinks for my son and towards morning his temperature returned to normal. Promising Pa some hot buttered toast if he got up quickly did the trick and I got him fed washed dressed and off to the hospital in time. As he left the gas boiler repair man arrived. Our boiler is serviced regularly and the young man who come to do the job is a very nice id hard working chap whom we have know for a long time. He is married now with a very pretty wife and two adorable children, we have known him since he was a young apprentice so we are old friends. A plate of bacon sandwiches and a pot of tea was the first order of business and my young friend tucked in heartily while we caught up on the years news. While the work was going on I prepared some soup for dinner, we as eating quite a lot of soup at the moment as it is the most convenient when we all have sore throats, I hope that we shall soon improve sufficiently to graduate to pasta! The morning passed quickly and soon Pa returned home from hospital tired and hungry and in need of sustenance, I returned to the cooker once again. . All the while the rain pelted down gurgling down the pipes and into the water butts, from time to time the sun appeared briefly with a bold flash of brightness which vanished quickly as if it had been extinguished by the rain. Blacker and blacker the sky became until at last they burst in a violent hail storm which sent the garden birds hurrying for shelter and sent the few people in the lane running for the nearest cover. Twiggy and I, glad to be indoors turned on the lamps to make the room cosy and as the hail turned again to rain a great rush of wind rattled all the doors and shook the windows as if an angry giant was trying to get in to the house. Twiggy not ah all happy at this turn of events dived under the bed and refused to budge, for two ins I would have joined her!A stray umbrella whizzed through the gate and in to the garden, bright yellow it settled upon a large bush of rosemary looking like some exotic bloom before lifting off on whirling away over the railings and across the lane. When at last the rain stopped for a while every twig and railing had sitting on it a bird of some sort shaking itself and reorganising its wet and battered feathers, a pair of young magpies were so wet that they could not get off the ground, help was at hand. In spite of the cold all this rain is doing the garden and the woods and fields a great deal of good. Buds are bursting everywhere and small delicate deliciously green leaves are appearing upon the lime trees in the lane . Flowers stunted by the unusual lack of water are springing up rapidly and in just a few days the garden looks totally different. My son has announced his intention of going to work tonight, he is going against the best advise (mine) although he does seem better I doubt very much if a soaking will do him any good at all so I shall book him a taxi to the station. Six foot four he may be but he is still my only chick and I worry, as do all mums. I was been given a bag of sweets recently and I squirrelled them away in a drawer ,tonight I shall snuggle up with my hot water bottle and the cat and enjoy this naughty treat. Diets, to hell with diets!