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Archive for 30/10/2008

‘Freak’ Hailstorm at Ottery St Mary <> ‘ECO Crunch’ - Snow in October

We thought the game was over, but seemingly not! Just days after the ‘rose over Mayfair’ a freak hailstorm has hit the town of Ottery St Mary in Devon.  One feet of hail (o.3m) fell in just 2 hours between 1.00 and 3.00 leading emergency services to describe the scene as ‘absolute chaos’.  The storm was hugely localised and centred on the town, causing the worst flooding seen in 25 years.   What’s curious is that Ottery St Mary was the birthplace of Samuel Taylor Coleridge - who features strongly in Charles Lamb’s journal - and the ‘rose cloud over Mayfair’ incident occured on the eve of his birthday. 

 samuel-coleridge.jpg

“Okay!” We hear you cry, but readers of The Haymakers Survey may remember that, in his journal, no sooner do Charles Lamb and Lucy Ebbs witness the rose cloud does a severe storm of hail and thunder sweep in to catch them unawares! Charles regrets his complacency before trying his best to protect his beloved from the worst of the storm!   Poetry in motion…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPM5khluZWE

Samuel Coleridge is famed for ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, which featured the verse about the cracking ice, as featured in Chalres Lamb’s journal. Hardly surprising then that the ‘Freak’ storm at the birth place of the poet should also coincide with a report by the WWF highlighting that our planet is on the verge of an ‘Eco Crunch’ due to the unsustainable rate at which people are using up the world’s limited resources.  Perhaps this explains the heavy October snow in London and the South East of England too? Sarah was amazed to find the snow had frozen overnight for the first time in 70 years- to resemble mini-ice sheets.  In these challenging economic times is ‘Mother Nature’ alerting us to a more serious threat to our well-being - afterall, the House of Commons was discussing Global Warming at the time! 

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