Will's Blog

The old adage about England is that it is windy and rainy. This was the predominant sentiment conveyed to me before we made the trip across the ocean. I ran out and bought a rain jacket, preparing myself physically and mentally for the upcoming onslaught of weather.

Our first week here was sunny and beautiful. In the first six months living here, the rain never bothered me. Actually, it was quite nice. Unlike the states, the rain tends to be just drizzly or "spot showers" where it rains for a bit and then drys off within minutes. It was nice, you would wake up to rain, eat breakfast, and go out to a dry land ready to adventure in the outdoors. It definitely was a mindset change from the states, where if it was raining, it was raining for a while.

Now its winter time. We are finely past the winter solstice and are gaining 3 minutes of daylight a day, getting excited about getting out of the gloom. The only downfall is that there are long stretches of rain and winds. Scratch the wind thing, its more like a hurricane. One weather report I read stated that we were having gusts of 84 miles per hour, with sustained winds around 60 mph. This means the poor 20+ pound children have to be attached to kit strings when outside.

Bottom line: Thinking of coming to the UK? Plan around the weather seasons. I see why they all live in stone houses. Harder to blow away...

Growing up in the snowy north of the US, you learn how to navigate through snow, sleet, and inclement weather. I remember my father teaching me how to get almost every manner of motor vehicle out of snow. He showed me a plethora of techniques to get cars, trucks, ATVs, and tractors out of snow. It was not often we were not able to navigate or unstick something.

Now, take the boy out of his surroundings and throw new challenges at him. He will try to apply all of that gathered knowledge to the new problem, sometimes learning the differences in the circumstances.

This is what I have recently done in the floods around the area. We live on a reservoir and are currently in a rainy season here in the UK. The roads tend to flood if the rain continues for a day or more. This was never more true than a few days ago taking the in-laws to the airport. The exit road out is in a flood plane with dikes to alleviate overflowing water. (This is really just the worst spot.) The water fills the field and the road for approximately 100 yards. Worry not, because it can not grow much more than 100 yards due to geographic restrictions. It just starts getting deep.

Now enter our hero, on a perilless mission to nobly deliver his entrusted mates to safe harbor. (Well, more like safe airport.) Our hero sends a trusty scout through to test the waters (i.e. my SUV driving landlord). The scout gives the "thumbs up" and our hero pushes on. The hero moves his chariot across the 18" deep water. He realizes that when he hits the thick of it that he should ease up, like he would on the snowy impasses of his homeland, and maintains control of the chariot.

Now what happens with momentum on his side? The car chokes out from lack of good air flow through the engine, via the tailpipe. Thankfully the car coasts far enough along to carry the vehicle mostly out of the water.

Lesson from this event? Keep up the back pressure. Water may be another form of snow, but navigation is different.

This will be the new home of "Schermer's Blog". I can't figure out how to move all of my deep thoughts, but I will just continue on from now blogging here.