Rain

The rain it raineth on the just

And also on the unjust fella:

But chiefly on the just, because

The unjust steals the just’s umbrella.

Lord Bowen 1853/1894

Il pleure dans mon coeur

Comme il pleut sur la ville.

There is weeping in my heart as it rains on the city.

Paul Verlaine 1844/1896

I thought we were in danger of being washed down the hill last night. Forget cats and dogs; it was raining rhinos and elephants.

We did have a small catastrophe later on. There was an almighty crash which set my heart a flutter – we were in different parts of the house- MTL joined me in the hall and we stared at a four foot wall clock which inexplicably had crashed down from the top landing gouging paintwork, plaster and wall paper en route. It has never worked during my reign and will suddenly set off chimes for no reason so as far as I am concerned its time is up and I never want to see it again.

Tomorrow should be fun: Joy picks Jackie and me up at 8.30am to drive us to Taunton where we get a train to Cheltenham. If all goes to plan Margaret will meet us at the other end and we will spend the day with her inspecting her new house and garden and generally catching up on the last six months. There may be tears.

When we get back home – pretty late - I shall have the pleasure of seeing our French son who is visiting for a few days to help us through a busy time. On Tuesday for instance we have three separate appointments in different parts of Taunton which require accurate timing. I’m hoping there may be a chance to stock up on make up which I can only get in Taunton.

So next week my posts and visits will be haphazard. Plus ca change…

Whenever I talk of rain I always think of that marvellous film based on a Somerset Maugham story which I think was called Rain but the film was Miss Sadie Thompson. If you get a chance to see the film do – it’s stayed with me for decades. Rita was sensational and Jose Ferrer such a swine (as he was meant to be)