Back to the UK and rollercoaster weather

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on January 26^th 2024.

When we decided that we would come back to the UK over January/February this year many of our friends queried the timing of our journey. After all, this is the time that many people flee the country in desperate need of some sunshine and blue skies. Our response was that our primary reason for coming was to see friends and family and we had realistically low expectations of the weather – in short that it would be probably be wet and grey.

And indeed it was wet and grey for the first couple of days, the tale end of a long run of weeks of miserable weather that had left the country sodden, rivers swollen and bursting their banks and the spirits of many people very low as a result.

We did the whole journey by train, an efficient, pleasurable and cheap experience in France, but found a different story in the UK where the trains were overcrowded, more expensive, and delays were common. To be fair some of these delays were as a result of the extensive flooding across large parts of the country. At times it seemed as if the train was passing through one huge lake, bounded on all sides by water.

Within a few days the weather turned around completely and temperatures plummeted. By this time we were in Wales, visiting our old haunting ground, and the temperature didn’t get much above freezing during the day and down to minus five centigrade some nights. On the plus side, the sun came out and skies were blue. Back home at Le Shack the sky was also blue and our friends were walking in t-shirts but it wasn’t helpful to dwell on that too much as we shivered our way round bracing walks in the hills.

By the middle of January the weather changed dramatically yet again, the temperatures rose and the rain began to fall. Storms Isha and Jocelyn battered the country with gale force winds leaving thousands without power and rivers on the rise once more.

With regard to the weather our visit so far has been a bit more of a rollercoaster ride than we expected, although we have been fortunate not to experience any disruption ourselves. Let’s hope it continues that way. 

I’ll leave you this week with a joke that I found in our latest housesit, framed and hung in the kitchen. It’s a long one but it made me laugh and when winters are long it’s more important than ever to have a good chuckle every now and then.

A group of chaps, all from the same old school and now aged 45, discussed where they should meet for lunch.

Finally it was agreed that they would meet at Wetherspoons in Uxbridge because the waitresses wore mini skirts and had a naughty sense of humour.

Ten years later, at age 55, the friends once again discussed where they should meet for lunch,

Finally it was agreed that they would meet at Wetherspoons in Uxbridge because the food and service was good and the beer was excellent.

Ten years later, at age 65, the friends again discussed where they should meet for lunch.

Finally it was agreed that they would meet at Wetherspoons in Uxbridge because they could dine in peace and quiet and it was good value for money.

Ten years later, at age 75, the friends discussed where they should meet for lunch.

Finally it was agreed they would meet at Wetherspoons in Uxbridge because the restaurant was wheelchair accessible and had a lift for the disabled.


Ten years later, at age 85, the friends discussed where they should meet. After prolonged discussions, it was finally agreed that they would meet at Weatherspoons in Uxbridge because they had never been there before.

See you next week.

MJ