It is now – well almost, given we still have a few hours left of 2012 – official that this year has been the wettest year on record.
Millions of pounds of resources have no doubt gone into this prediction, but dogs throughout the land could have told the boffins this, in return for a chew or two.
What a horrible year and one we actually gave up on as the darker nights started, preferring to snuggle up in our beds and listen to the rain pelting onto the windows.
In a Met Office press release a spokesperson said that: ” The UK as a whole still needs 46 mm of rain over the last few days of December to break the annual record.”
Our garden, which is on a hill, is now soaked through. Dad has installed duck boards to stop us standing on the soggy ground when we go out, lest our soggy paws bring mud and dirt into the house.
Here are a few Met Office stats:
- In June, July and August, 370.7 mm of rain fell across the UK, making it the second wettest summer on record since the 384.4 mm of rain which fell in the summer of 1912.
- August was the driest and sunniest of the summer months across the UK with only 109.5 mm of rain and 154 hours of sunshine.
- Summer 2012 was also one of the dullest summers since 1987 with just 413 hours of sunshine.
- To complete the disappointing picture, it was also a relatively cool summer with a mean temperature of 13.9 °C, some 0.4 °C below the long term average.
So looking ahead to 2013 please can we have some sunshine so we can go outside without our coats on and go exploring once more.
Other stuff done recently
Although we have not been updating the blog for the last month or so we have still been getting out and about.
Our walks have been mainly on clean paths and to places we know well. Going further afield has just not been worth getting soaked for.
On one recent visit to Dalston, to the west of Carlisle, we discovered that a new car park had been installed.
Placed opposite the recently opened Co-op, the new facility looked really good and will no doubt blend further with the surroundings as the trees and shrubs grow.
As a driver of a car dad did have some reservations with the positioning and height of some of the wooden marker posts. He said they vanished from view as you tried to park and could do with being a bit taller.
Christmas time
With the end of the year also comes Christmas and the streets have been filled with lots of new sniffs thanks to decorations and other festive paraphernalia.
In the centre of the City we spotted this big Santa who looked like he was, well shall we say, in need of some prunes.
The look on his face and the way he was seated, just seemed funny. We also noticed that maybe santa was doing a bit of freelance work as he had Southport Pleasureland printed across his back.
Rainbow above Carlisle
Back to the weather briefly just to mention a photograph dad took of Carlisle Castle towards the middle of November.
He managed to photograph a big colourful rainbow climbing high into the sky above the 900 year old red stone castle.
Silloth toilets
This post is a bit of a catch up on what we have been getting upto over recent weeks. One of our visits was to Silloth on the north west coast where we made a bit of a discovery.
Hidden away down a flight of stairs to one corner of the main grassed area in the town is a well preserved and restored Edwardian gem.
White tiles line the ladies toilet block walls whilst a very imposing wooden framed mirror reflects light around the architectural time capsule.
Initially mum thought that the toilet block was Victorian but it turns out to be Edwardian, and has recently reopened after a bit of a revamp.
Opposite the large wash hand basins are the toilets each set in a wooden stall and featuring wooden seats.
Searching around the web it appears little is published about the history of this toilet block, so do you know any details? Let us know in the comments area below this post.
Looking towards 2013
Please can we have some sunshine and be able to go for some walks. Although I am getting a bit old, my hips ache and my tummy rumbles a lot, I do enjoy the sniffs and trying to keep up with Charlie.
A good hot summer would really warm my bones and make me feel a whole lot better.
Good luck to all of our friends into 2013 and thank you for your support during 2012.
Licks and woofs
Buster and Charlie