Friday Five: Rainy Days

Sally, who lives in jolly old Yorkshire, UK has posted this Rainy Day Friday Five. Since we have not seen rain for two months, save for a slight sprinkle and lots of Texas thunder and lightning, I am not really sure what to do. But I do remember a very rainy month I had in the UK in 1987. That was when the ‘hurricane’ went through southern England. Also many of my friends are waiting out Irene on the ‘right’ coast of the US today so I will try to remember a rainy day for their sakes.

Sally, I remember a very chilly rainy October birthday on the Yorkshire Dales in a Bainbridge/Askrigg pub that was warm and friendly. I had my first ‘Snakebite’ bought for me by a fellow in that pub to honor my day. I couldn’t find my feet when I stood up to leave! It was good we only had to walk across the street to our B&B.  If we had pubs here, that is one of the places I would go on a rainy afternoon.



Sally said: “It is Friday which is my day off and it is raining, which means that an outing to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park has been cancelled. So what to do, I am currently scanning the internet for possibilities. I think we will head into York to visit the Art Gallery.”






How about you, what do you do on a rainy summer’s day?

1. At home? Rain on a Texas summer’s day usually comes with much thunder and lightning. It either comes with a heavy downpour for a very short time or it signifies nothing. Since lightning accounts for many deaths here, it is not a time I would like to walk in the rain or watch the TV, I generally read. But often it is just refreshing to be able to open the doors to the cooler air.

2. In your local area? When I we lived in NY state, it was generally a good day to go to the mall for a bit of shopping. Here in Fort Worth we have some splendid museums.

3. If you are away on holiday? Put on our slickers and go! Holidays are too precious to just sit around and stay dry. I always have a pair of shoes that allow rainy day excursions. I am generally not a ‘brawlie’ person—umbrellas do not fare well in TX wind. But I always have a rain jacket and don’t mind getting a bit damp in order to see the sights. It is often the time when others stay home and the crowded places are often more accessible.

4. Name a rainy day read. Almost anything but Dostoevsky or Camus, they are depressing on a sunny day! Harry Potter would be a good rainy day read. But any good mystery. Right now I am reading a British novel that takes place on Holy Island.



5. Is there a piece of music/ a poem/ story that cheers you up? Rain, for the most part, is not depressing for me. Having grown up in TX rain was nearly always greeted with great joy because we get so little of it. But with all the ‘sturm und drang’ that rainstorms bring here, I would listen to some of the big pieces of Richard Strauss—Die Rosenkavilier or Mahlers’ Seventh Symphony or Die Valkurie by Wagner to enliven my day. Or if J is home, perhaps some Paul Simon—Kodachrome or Bridge over Troubled Waters.



Bonus: post a rainy day photo