Sunday, December 01, 2019

PARTICULARLY NASTY WEATHER....


Part of the Scenic Rim...South-East Queensland
Drought-affected Dubbo, New South Wales

Every time I hear, or read the above term a smile spreads across my face.  I’m reminded of a humorous twist a dear, now-departed work colleague of long ago always applied to the words.  John, my boss over the 14 years I was employed by the Kolotex Group of Companies, a learned, intelligent, well-travelled man of good humour was guilty of introducing me to his version of the term.  John was a navigator in the Air Force during the Second World War.  He’d been the men’s wear buyer at John Martin & Co., aka “Johnnies”, in Rundle Street, Adelaide.  After the war ended, for a number of years, he was the store’s menswear overseas buyer, based in Paris, and for a time, in London.

Not wishing to offend anyone, I won’t repeat the synonyms, but I’m sure there are some readers who know the twist on “particularly nasty weather”!  The saying begins with “tickle my......” ending with a word that rhymes with weather.

They’re the only hints I’m giving.  I’ll leave it to you to figure out the rest...

It’s funny how something inconsequential can awaken memories, bringing feelings to the surface. 

On my way to check my letterbox this morning my subconscious kicked into action. Automatically, I went to pick up a discarded magpie feather lying on the ground.  I stopped myself from doing what my latent, inner self urged me to do. 

My instinct was to stick the feather in my hair, and then gallop around the yard, “whoop-whoop-whoopy-ing”, attacking the circled wagons, playing cowboys and Indians as I often did when I was a little kid. It’s taking me a long time to grow up.

With difficulty, I managed to harness my impulse.  I kept it in check, allowing boring decorum to have its way. The desire was strong, but I was stronger; maybe next time I’ll weaken.   Who knows?  One is allowed to have fun.  Age should never figure in the equation, even if the joints are screaming, “No! No!”   If others think you’re crazy...who cares?   Let them think they are correct in their uninformed, baseless assumptions.  You, yourself, know better.  No one knows you better than you...so run with that...
  
Bursts of craziness – harmless silliness - hit often when I was living in the Tropics in the ‘80s/90s, whether on islands, or on the mainland.  And, as often, the spontaneous explosions of madness coincided with the arrival of the monsoons that brought heavy, cooling summer downpours.  No efforts were made to rein in the joyous, zealous enthusiasm.  Dancing in the rain - often sans clothes - was freedom personified.   

Splashing around in puddles of water in the carefree manner of a child was liberating.  I was quite a few years younger then, and much fitter, than I am now. It was the greatest fun to be had with, or without clothes. 

When the rains come – hopefully rain will arrive in all its liquid glory very soon - I can’t, and won’t guarantee I’ll not recapture those happy-go-lucky, halcyon moments of my younger, devil-may-care, slimmer, more agile self.  I don’t care if the devil cares, anyway.  Who the devil is he to care what I do in my own time?   

If you see someone singing and dancing in the rain, it won’t be Gene Kelly, it'll just be fruit loop me. Having fun, I’ll be causing harm to no one.  In respect to those of a sensitive nature, I’ll leave my gear on. If the vision still offends...look the other way.  

My actions will be “three birds...one stone”, as the saying goes.  (I don’t kill or throw stones at birds). While enthusiastically enjoying myself dancing in the rain I won’t need to fire up my washing machine. I’ll wear a bar of washing soap on a rope around my neck, along with a cake of Imperial Leather.  Simultaneously, I’ll frolic, do my laundry, and shower.  Howzat for smart thinking?  Hang on! Make it four birds!  I’ll shampoo my hair, too.

The water trucks continually extracting water from our mountain aquifer are more offensive than an image of me dancing in the rain.  If the water was going to those in dire need – those in drought-stricken areas - I wouldn’t mind so much...nor would anyone else...but it’s the mountain water is going to a couple of Brisbane breweries and the Coco Cola factory.   Only so many slices can be taken from the cake....in my opinion...and in the opinion of many others...similar applies to the aquifer.

The resort on Hinchinbrook Island was solely reliant on its small dam for water before I hired a couple of dowsers from the Atherton Tablelands to come and divine for water, and set a bore.   

One evening I fired a staff member on the spot when I caught him thoughtlessly wasting water.  I told him to leave the restaurant immediately, and head back up to the staff quarters to pack his bags...that he would be off the island the following morning...no ifs, and no buts.  He’d left a tap running at full bolt in one of the large industrial sinks in the kitchen area.  No plug was in the sink, and the water was gushing away down the sink hole.  I didn’t make a scene, embarrassing him in front of guests or his co-workers, but firmly I got my message across.

I abhor water wastage.  

Presently, sadly, and worryingly, our mountain greenery is a mountain brownery.  

We did get some rain from a couple of storms over this past weekend; much more is needed, but, with gratitude, we'll take every drop given...the sound of the rain on the roof was music to my ears.  

I'm sure I heard the earth calling out..."Thank you!"   Or was it me...perhaps it was both....


Everything old is new again...



Australia's Hottest Day on Record 1828


Not 2019, BUT 1828 at a blistering 53.9 °C

Back before man-made climate change was frying Australia, when CO2was around 300ppm, the continent savoured an ideal pre-industrial climate.... RIGHT?

This is the kind of climate we are spending $10bn per annum to get back to... Right again?

We are told today's climate has more records and more extremes than times gone by, but the few records we have from the early 1800s are eye-popping.

Things were not just hotter, but so wildly hot it burst thermometers. 

The earliest temperature records we have show that Australia was a land of shocking heatwaves and droughts, except for when it was bitterly cold or raging in flood.

In other words, nothing has changed, except possibly things might not be quite so hot now!

Silliggy (Lance Pidgeon) has been researching records from early explorers and from newspapers.

What he's uncovered is fascinating!   It's as if history is being erased!

For all that we hear about recent record-breaking climate extremes, records that are equally extreme, and sometimes even more so, are ignored.

In January 1896 a savage blast "like a furnace" stretched across Australia from east to west and lasted for weeks.

The death toll reached 437 people in the eastern states.

Newspaper reports showed that in Bourke the heat approached 120°F (48.9°C) on three days.

Links to documentary evidence (1)(2)(3)

The maximum at or above 102 degrees F (38.9°C) for 24 days straight!

Use the several links below to read the news reports at the time for yourself ..
1.    By Tuesday Jan 14, people were reported falling dead in the streets.

2.    Unable to sleep, people in Brewarrina walked the streets at night for hours, thermometers recorded 109F at  midnight.

3.    Overnight, the temperature did not fall below 103°F.

4.    On Jan 18 in Wilcannia, five deaths were recorded in one day, the hospitals were overcrowded and reports said that "more deaths are hourly expected".

5.    By January 24, in Bourke, many businesses had shut down (almost everything bar the hotels).

6.    Panic stricken Australians were fleeing to the hills in climate refugee trains.

As reported at the time, the government felt the situation was so serious that to save lives and ease the suffering of its citizens they added cheaper train services.

What I found most interesting about this was the skill, dedication and length of meteorological data taken in the 1800s. When our climate is "the most important moral challenge" why is it there is so little interest in our longest and oldest data?

Who knew that one of the most meticulous and detailed temperature records in the world from the 1800s comes from Adelaide, largely thanks to Sir Charles Todd.

The West Terrace site in Adelaide was one of the best in the world at the time, and provides accurate historic temperatures from  "Australia's first permanent weather bureau at Adelaide in 1856".

Rainfall records even appear to go as far back as 1839.  Lance Pidgeon went delving into the National Archives and was surprised at what he found.

The media are in overdrive, making out that "the extreme heat is the new normal" in Australia. 

You can't blame those high records on man-made global warming!





28 comments:

  1. Goodness Lee - I found all that really fascinating about the climate back in the 1800's. They did do a great job keeping records. Hard to believe you are warm now and we are getting cooler. Man I didn't realize y'all were so dusty and brown there. Sandie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, in this upside down world we live, Sandie, here in the land Down Under...we've just stepped into summer.

      I found the article very interesting, too.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  2. We ARE at the moment in particularly nasty weather.
    Very variable nasty weather.
    I got sleeted on (briefly) this morning and last week was very, very hot.
    And we have had less than a milimetre of moisture, with a lot of wind and fires burning out of control nearby.
    And yes, while Australia has always had extreme weather I do accept the scientist's findings that our behaviour is contributing to the the current extremes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, EC...it's very windy here today...strong westerlies a-blowing. Thankfully, cooling it down from the temps of the last few days...the climate has changed again today! :)

      Thanks for coming by...I hope all is well down your way...take care. :)

      Delete
  3. I've been reading about the koalas being burnt and their habitat destroyed, I pray for rain for your country and critters large and small; we are the opposite here except we did have the wind, tomorrow low of 21 F and High of 39 F, cold snap for sure; mother nature repeats itself just like history; dinosaurs would attest to climate change if they were here; much like woolly mammoth and the like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Linda. It is sad to see our native animals at risk from the bushfires...it's heartbreaking...there are many very good, kind people who are taking care of our injured animals. There are many good-hearted people helping others affected by the fires and droughts. The human spirit is difficult to crush. However, how our farmers...our people on the land valiantly fight on beats me. I take my hat off to them.

      Mother Nature has a mind and will of her own...that is for sure.

      Thanks for coming by, Linda. :)

      Delete
  4. How refreshing to read what happened in the past regarding the weather. Well done Lee, enjoyed it immensely.
    That was a very hot day back in the 1800's..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there, Margaret. That is a very interesting article, I agree...one I figured was worth passing on.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
    2. Have been to the links you provided. Very interesting reading. Thanks. History is certainly repeating itself..

      Delete
    3. As it so often does, Margaret...

      Delete
  5. 53.9???
    in times when women wore many layers of petticoats and cooked over open fires? It's a wonder anyone survived.
    We've had on and off rain here for a few days now, not nearly enough, but better than nothing and I hope with all fingers crossed that the rest of the country gets some rain too.
    If I lived alone in the middle of nowhere, I might romp around like a kid too, but not here in the flats where the neighbours can see. I'd be locked in the loony bin faster than I could say Wheeee!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey River...Yep! The clothes worn in those days of old would have been torture! I get around here with as little as possible on during the hot weather. Around here I've no one to scare the living daylights out of, other than my landlord if he's wandering about down near my cabin...but then, when I hear him, I usually lay low and dodge him whenever possible!! :)

      My days...and nights...dancing in the rain without...or with clothes...are long gone. Although, I almost did so late Saturday afternoon when a beautiful downpour arrived!! How wonderful it was...and followed by another late Sunday afternoon/early evening. The temptation was great...but I didn't succumb!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  6. Climate is of extreme importance everywhere. Sadly, we live in some abnormal climatic conditions. We should pray to God. Only HE can and will help us prevent and overcome drought, fires, flooding, etc...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. G'day, DUTA...Climate has always been of extreme importance...in all its extremes...and over the millions of years there have been many extremes...from the Ice Age, the Stone Age, Bronze Age...and all ages before, between and after.

      Thanks for coming by...welcome back to the Blogland. :)

      Delete
  7. Anonymous2:46 PM

    I think I worked out the saying but I haven't heard it before.

    Here in southern Victoria we are continually breaking records and our weather bureau has peer reviewed digitised records back to 1910 and in the same year the bureau standardised measuring equipment and methods across Australia. Earlier observations may not be very reliable.

    I've always liked the thought of dancing around in rain during a monsoon downpour. I guess I won't experience it now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahahaha! Good on you, Andrew! There is no copyright applicable...so you're allowed to use it if you wish! :)

      Never say never, Andrew! Anything goes in the Tropics!!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  8. Dancing in the rain sounds lovely.
    We've always had extremes in weather, but its so volatile today and it's the norm not the exception. I don't think it's all manmade, but I think we've done our share and need to do cleanup while we can.
    As always, fun, thought provoking post.
    YOU have a great one....dance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is, Sandra. :)

      Of course we have to be heedful, respectful and careful...but we don't have to blindly follow the words of people like Al Gore, for instance.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  9. Dance when it rains, and remember the climates will always change. It does not matter if it is caused by us or not. We are not taking good care of our nest and we need to do better, including better sharing of water.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi messymimi...we should take care at all times...of everything around us; of the world in which we dwell; and of those around us. But, also, we shouldn't allow ourselves to be overcome by the zealots, many of whom have their own agendas.

      For instance, like those disruptive clowns of the so-called "Extinction Rebellion"...all of whom you can guarantee have mobile phones; have electricity at a switch of the finger in their homes, homes that are probably air-conditioned; etc., etc. One can guarantee almost all of them are living off the earnings of others...off the taxes paid by employed others because if the "EE" brigade can afford the time to climb bridges, disrupt traffic. glue themselves to city streets, they obviously don't have jobs...and are leeches on society.

      To dance in the rain is a wonderful feeling...to take care of our surrounds, and those with whom we share those surrounds, is of vital importance...to save water is necessary.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  10. Never say never indeed Lee. Snow in November recently close to her - how could that happen it's usually hot at that time. We've seen it before so it can happen.
    You've mentioned many things in this post I've often thought....quietly to myself. Look after and respect all around us is the way to go.
    I remember chiding one of The Golfer's Canadian cousins about letting the tap run way back in the 1980s - water is precious I said don't waste it. He looked at me and said, doesn't matter, we've got a well. I'll remind you of that when it runs dry said I.
    I'll admit to sunning myself in the nuddy- haven't danced in the rain that way though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Cathy...the sunning in the nuddy is great...but the dancing in the rain in the nuddy is even better. Take my word for it! :)

      Water is a precious commodity, that is for sure.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  11. I used to have a 'picture' on the wall in my kitchen which said "Happiness is dancing naked in the warm rain". Bearing in mind that I have lived on Lewis for these past 45 years albeit with 10 of them shared with New Zealand (where, indeed, I could have danced in warm rain) warm rain was not something I have generally encountered. However one mid-summer evening just after midnight down on the beach below my house a friend and I were having a walk. It was still light of course. The sea (which was very chilly) nevertheless looked inviting. We were in light summer clothes and were damp as a result of a light stray shower. So, of course, we decided to go skinny dipping. Which is fine - for a few seconds!! When we emerged we did so into a fine warm rain. NEVER have I been so happy to have felt rain. Of course we then had to walk several hundred metres up the hill to my house with our modesty barely covered by damp and very cold clothes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhh...skinny-dipping is a true feeling of freedom, Graham; as is dancing in the rain, clothed or unclothed.

      Skinny-dipping takes swimming to a higher, more pleasurable experience. I've skinny-dipped many times in the past. Fun! Fun! Fun! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  12. When I was eighteen/nineteen and living on Fiji's northernmost island there were a few occasions when I stepped out into tropical downpours with shampoo and soap. It was better than showering in the tiny bathroom with a bucket of cold water.

    Regarding climate change, there will always be ups and downs, exceptions to rules as in the case of the dreadful heatwave you alluded to - but the trend is undoubtedly towards a warmer planet with connected catastrophic weather events. Polar bears are soon to be the new dodos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is nothing quite like it, Yorkie. When I was running the small resort on Newry Island Cyclone Joy hit. A few of my guests, stranded on the island during that Christmas season did similar...and loved it, particularly those guests from overseas.

      There are still a lot of human dodos in existence!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  13. This was very interesting to read Lee, and I'm pleased you shared it.
    There has always been extremes of weather … is there an easy answer to this?
    I'm no expert, but I doubt it!

    However, it does seem to me that at the moment worldwide we are seeing such variables in the weather and they seem to be happening more often than they used to …

    From the pictures we have seen on UK television, I do hope Australia gets a decent amount of rain soon.

    Take care, my good wishes.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Jan...Coverage of the news...if events is more frequent, too...all events...every hour on the hour, and in between. One thing is a certainty, we are constantly, continually, repetitively inundated with news. Once upon a time there we had perhaps at most three news bulletins a day. Not so these days...

      Plus we have social media etc., added to the fray!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete