It’s Official! I’m A Jinx!

~ beetleypete

Hands up, I write a lot about the weather. I’s probably the most regularly covered topic on this blog. One reason is that before I moved here, Norfolk had the proud boast of being ‘The Driest County in England’. In fact, that was the title of one of the earliest posts on my blog, reflecting the irony that it seemed to rain every day here.

I also wrote a post about the fact that it always rained at 2 pm, my usual dog-walking time.

Over the years, my obsession with weather has led some people to conclude that I am exaggerating. Others might think it shows signs of serious depression, or some other mental abberation. Moving to a place supposed to officially be the driest spot in the British Isles only to discover it is probably one of the wettest, is a cruel twist of fate indeed.

Then yesterday morning, I had an interesting conversation with a fellow dog-walker, as we both stood looking at the severe flooding that has affected Beetley Meadows. The man was younger than me, but had lived his whole life in this area. And he was a gardener by profession, so spends his life outside, every working day. Gazing at the rushing flood-waters, he told me this.

“This used to be the driest place, you know. Some summers, we had no rain for four or five months, and it never rained during the school holidays when I was young. We had hosepipe bans that started in April, and water was treated like something rare, because of the lack of rain. They even used to close the drive-through car washes because they used too much water. But I started to notice that changing a while back. As I am outside all day working, I get a feel for those things, you know? We began to get heavy rain in early October, and then almost no snow at all during winter, but many consecutive days of heavy rain instead. Washed out summers, ruined barbecues, and only a few reasonably hot days each year.

I remember going home and telling my wife that something bad was happening with the weather here. Even the direction of the arriving bad weather was changing. It was always from the west before, but then it started to come down from the north, and across from the east. Weather patterns and gulf stream directions were all different. I looked it up. Then there was a really big change. I remember it as if it was yesterday. It started with weeks of rain, then a crappy summer, followed by a late winter that left us with snow almost into April”.

I nodded in agreement, then asked. “What year was that then?” He turned to face me, his answer immediate and full of conviction.

“2012. It started at the end of March that year, and it has been getting worse every year since”.

I moved to Beetley on the 23rd of March, 2012. It’s all my fault.

70 thoughts on “It’s Official! I’m A Jinx!”

  13. I am thinking there could be a late-in-life career for you traveling about the world bringing the gift of rain – if only it weren’t for this virus! I could say similar things about our move here and the rain that was previously unheard of. Unfortunately, I think we can safely put a lot of the blame on the selfishness of mankind for a good part of it. Industry and politicians go hand-in-hand.

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  16. It’s changing everywhere Pete, we used to call it ‘the frozen north’ up here, but we rarely see snow anymore, I haven’t had to scrape ice off the car at all yet this year,and our temperatures in winter are not that different to the summer ones!

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  17. Pingback: Rain, Rain Go Away! | Stevie Turner

  18. Lol! We’ve been in Suffolk for 30 years in January. I remember very dry summers when the boys were young, with hosepipe bans and cracked river beds. Summers are definitely becoming wetter, and it’s all your fault!

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  19. This made me laugh, Pete, because our family was sure we were jinxed because wherever we went on holiday when I was a child it rained. Everyone said it had been glorious just the week before or event he day before – we arrived and it rained..

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  20. Oh to have such power, Pete. Probably all coincidence though, you realise that don’t you? The timing of it, and climate change, and you paying a lot of attention to the weather. A person tends to see what they’re looking for.

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  25. Did you happen to write something against Zeus, the God of Rain and Thunder? Or may be Posiden (The God of Water) who is collaborating with Zeus to get back to you…Then there are also minor Gods of various winds who carry rains to certain directions. Or may be, I hope not, the Fates! Think deep. Make an offering, may be your favourite Scotch, or a Roasted Turkey…

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  26. It’s not you, Pete, when I came over to live in Stamford, Lincs, in January 1977, we were snow & iced in for a couple of weeks, since then, every winter, the cold (chill is a better term) came in from the East.
    Have to admit though, East Anglia always was the driest area in the summer.

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    1. It was officially the driest county for decades, according to the Met Office. Then a place in Essex took the crown. We almost moved to Lincolnshire, and seriously considered Sleaford and Sutton-on-Sea before settling on Norfolk to be nearer family.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  28. Oh, to have so much power! Don’t for a microsecond think that I’m trying to get rid of you, but there are some beleaguered places in Australia that would be desperate for your services….. 😉 Cheers, Jon.

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