The rain came from the north.
It was not unexpected given that the weather forecast had predicted rain but it was still something of a surprise.
The morning has been the usual bright sunshine with a blistering degree of heat that pretty much drove most of the traders off the beach and left me making jokes about forecasting the weather.
That said the signs had been there had I bothered to look beginning with the wind which got steadily stronger during the morning creating the sort of waves you normally associate with the North Sea.
And then sometime during the afternoon the temperature collapsed it began to rain with the added roll of thunder.
Now I familiar with these summer showers. Some can be fierce with sudden downpours which have the force to flatten flowers and soak you to the skin in minutes.
Ours was less dramatic and while the rain didn’t go away at least it was gentler for part of the afternoon and then as it does it turned torrential, coming down like stair rods.
And that as they say was that. But of course despite losing the sun and sand it was not the disaster it might have been once upon a time.
Today most hotels have televisions and most of us will have some sort of electronic device which link us to the big world, offer up music, films or other alternatives.
All of which is a long way from those desperate days when an afternoon of cards, draughts and colouring books were all there was to lift the boredom as the rain fell out of the sky.
Now I never did holiday B&BS but the stories of being sent out after breakfast with an eternity of a day to fill until the guests were allowed back at tea time were real and could only be an ordeal if a British summer proved to be its usual mix of tepid sun and showers.
So as the rain has refused to give up most people have opted for the telly, the Tablet or a variety of other electronic devices, and a few falling back on old fashioned playing cards.
A handful chose to sit on the veranda and watch the wet weather and the brave ventured out seduced by a break in the downpour but armed with a hotel umbrella.
And the high drama was provided by the thunderstorm which marched closer and closer, with its mix of lightning and thunder which temporarily resulted in a power cut.
The shock of the thunder clap mixed with the loss of electrics brought everyone briefly together. But power was restored in minutes, the storm rumbled off south and pretty soon the rain stopped.
It was just a temporary break from the sun and sand. Tomorrow will be fair with temperature set to climb to 30° and already as evening falls people are planning for another day on the beach..
Pictures; the Adriatic, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
The morning has been the usual bright sunshine with a blistering degree of heat that pretty much drove most of the traders off the beach and left me making jokes about forecasting the weather.
That said the signs had been there had I bothered to look beginning with the wind which got steadily stronger during the morning creating the sort of waves you normally associate with the North Sea.
And then sometime during the afternoon the temperature collapsed it began to rain with the added roll of thunder.
Now I familiar with these summer showers. Some can be fierce with sudden downpours which have the force to flatten flowers and soak you to the skin in minutes.
Ours was less dramatic and while the rain didn’t go away at least it was gentler for part of the afternoon and then as it does it turned torrential, coming down like stair rods.
And that as they say was that. But of course despite losing the sun and sand it was not the disaster it might have been once upon a time.
Today most hotels have televisions and most of us will have some sort of electronic device which link us to the big world, offer up music, films or other alternatives.
All of which is a long way from those desperate days when an afternoon of cards, draughts and colouring books were all there was to lift the boredom as the rain fell out of the sky.
Now I never did holiday B&BS but the stories of being sent out after breakfast with an eternity of a day to fill until the guests were allowed back at tea time were real and could only be an ordeal if a British summer proved to be its usual mix of tepid sun and showers.
A handful chose to sit on the veranda and watch the wet weather and the brave ventured out seduced by a break in the downpour but armed with a hotel umbrella.
And the high drama was provided by the thunderstorm which marched closer and closer, with its mix of lightning and thunder which temporarily resulted in a power cut.
The shock of the thunder clap mixed with the loss of electrics brought everyone briefly together. But power was restored in minutes, the storm rumbled off south and pretty soon the rain stopped.
It was just a temporary break from the sun and sand. Tomorrow will be fair with temperature set to climb to 30° and already as evening falls people are planning for another day on the beach..
Pictures; the Adriatic, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
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