A very short week

22 and 23 July 2015

Walking to work on Wednesday morning I had a spring in my step because I knew it was going to be a very short working week. The sky was trying to be blue, there were swans on the river and I had a few days holiday ahead to look forward to. The early risers amongst the swans looked at me as I passed while others slept on, drifting on the calm water amongst reflected clouds. One swan was having a very through morning wash and brush up, surrounded by an ever growing pile of old feathers while his lazy stay a bed partner snoozed peacefully, neck curled into an s shape, head under wing.

Strolling along the Boardwalk my head was full of all the places I could walk on my days off and the things I had to do that would interfere with walking. The spiky seed heads on the Queen Anne’s Lace distracted me for a moment. They remind me of ranks of spiny green beetles in the middle of a dance. It was still hot and sticky, even at six in the morning and I hoped the weather would break before the end of the week.

When I got to the office I was met by a great deal of grumbling. Lewis has been abducted by the marketing department, and with people on holiday this left us short staffed. To make matters worse we had a mass of new drivers coming in for tests and, with no receptionist, the team had to keep getting up to let them in and direct them round the building. Then there were two team meetings, half the team in the morning, the other half in the afternoon. There were a few grumbles about the team meetings, especially as they put pressure on the  people still on the phones.

Riley was amongst the new drivers taking tests which left us another person down. He’s decided he fancies being a bus driver, unlikely as it seems for a young lad who can barely say boo to a goose and looks all of fourteen. Long story short, he’s passed the test and they’ve offered him a job. Of course we were all pleased for him but we’re going to miss him, especially at the moment.

When I left the house on Thursday there was blue sky covered with a layer of thin, mackerel, cloud. This could be very good or very bad for someone who had taken a few days off work to go walking. There’s an old sailor’s weather saying, Mackerel sky and mare’s tails make tall ships carry low sails. Men of the sea have been looking at the skies to predict the weather for thousands of years and they are surprisingly good at it. Altocumulus or cirrocumulus clouds can bear a striking resemblance to the scales of a mackerel and cirrus clouds are often called mare’s tails for obvious reasons.

A mackerel sky shows there is moisture and instability about and indicates changeable weather, thunderstorms and rain. As I crossed the Big Bridge I eyed the sky and wondered what it would mean for my holiday walking plans. When I turned to go under the bridge I noticed a curious hole in the altocumulus filled with a wispy puff of cirrus. Whatever weather these clouds brought it was almost certainly going to be changeable. With any luck there’d be rain while I was at work and the sticky, humidity would finally be over.

By the time I got to the stones by the Boardwalk a welcome breeze had got up and was ruffling the water. The swans were stretching and beginning their morning grooming ritual and the sun was still shining. A large yacht came chugging along towards the bridge and music drifted across the river. As I carried on towards the office I watched it enviously. Wouldn’t it be nice to be sailing down the Itchen on such a morning, as long as the weather didn’t change of course.

When I got to work everyone was talking about the weather. Apparently, the met office had issued a severe weather warning for the South Coast for Friday. Seriously! The first day I take off since the beginning of May and they issue a severe weather warning!