Well, that was just ridiculous. On a down day, she who must be obeyed and I decided to go for a spin into the Somerset wilderness. Lunch at the Farrington Gurney farm shop (fantastic), a nice little stop in the picturesque village of Mells and finally a visit to the Book Barn at Hallatrow, where, yes, we bought some books. But at the risk of sounding like the senior citizen I am gradually becoming, that weather. Oh my God.
It was not exactly a beautiful spring day when we set out but it was okay enough. Something like 6c – hardly the 20c they enjoyed in Corfu today, but bearable. But it was when we left Mells when the fun started.
The temperature gauge on the car started to plummet whereupon sleet began to fall, gently at first and then very heavily. I kid you not but for one moment it felt like a blizzard. Whiteout, with the road whiter than anything else. We drove down a hill following the Tom Tom instructions but when she (!) told us to turn left down a narrow lane, the car on front decided to stop and so did I. Suddenly, steaming up behind me at a rapid rate of knots came another car. Unable to stop he skidded wildly and quickly off the road. I managed to drive a few yards forward as I saw what was happening and so avoided having the back of my car being smashed in.
The sleet soon turned to hail, the road got even whiter and it was by now an unbelievable 0c in daylight on 9th April. And as soon as the sleet and hail had passed, the sun came out. We arrived in Hallatrow, my car covered in hailstones, everyone else’s car covered in nothing at all.
By the time we got back to Bristol, the sun was high in the sky, the clouds were white and puffy and all was well with the world. When I saw the forecast as being changeable, I didn’t expect sleet and hailstorms!
