Helen Bach Column: Northern Lights, camera, action...
The weather has not been far from my thoughts in recent weeks.
In September we had 'above average rainfall', as the forecasters so delicately put it, and not for the first time I considered whether I should learn carpentry skills to build an ark?
Our Welland Valley roads were flooded, again - impassable for anyone who didn't own a boat or a fancy four-wheel drive with snorkel attachment. I currently possess neither, but am wondering should I invest?
Imagine my incredulity then to receive a letter from Anglian Water informing us they're changing our meter as they need to monitor the water more closely as we live in the driest area in the country?!
I was praying for reasonable weather so we could deposit our daughter back at Uni in the dry. You see, she doesn't travel light - in fact, she carts more stuff back and forth every term than I even owned at her age (and probably do now, thinking about it!). I marvelled as another student alighted from a taxi with just two neat suitcases, and almost asked her how she managed that, while we were shouldering multiple boxes, suitcases and holdalls.
Then our news was dominated with the warnings about Hurricane Milton, and the threat to life in Florida. Cue a drenched reporter trying to stand upright in heavy rain/winds so they could demonstrate how awful it was.
The BBC weather website/app glitch couldn't have come at a worse time really - it was a bit of a surprise to read hurricane winds were forecast for us that same Thursday. They were quick to say there was a problem and not to worry, but I didn't hang my washing out just in case - I didn't want my 'smalls' distributed around the local area!
Thursday late night's weather said we might see the Aurora Borealis, so I woke up my husband who was dozing peacefully on the sofa and told him to come outside with his phone. He obliged, even though he thought I'd lost the plot, but lo, there they were - not visible with the naked eye, but as clear as day on his screen.
Thus another weather ambition of mine was fulfilled - and this Mum hadn't had to go to Iceland to achieve it!