The Baynhams

Since she arrived there has been nothing but thunder, lightning and rain!

No more sunshine to be found!

We tried to go to Tball yesterday. The sky was blue but with an ominously dark horizon. More storms were forecast to be on the way but surely not for a few hours? There was a possibility that we might get rained upon but wasn't it worth turning up and seeing? Worst case scenario they get half a lesson before the rain drops start to fall...?

Oh No! That's not how it happened....

We pulled up and parked in the crowded car park. There were over 100 kids running around in their team t-shirts. People were chatting about the forcasted storms but were optimistic about having a good run around before they hit. Then a friends mobile rang. It was her normally calm husband telling her to get the kids in the car and leave NOW.

As we looked above our heads we saw the strangest sky I have ever seen. Pale blue on one side, ink black on the other. Through the inky black was a pale grey cloud that was churning and spinning so fast it was mesmerising. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope. Someone described it afterwards as looking like a boiling pan of water.

As we craned our necks up high the organisers voice on the loudspeaker went from calmly telling us about the game plans to an urgent voice telling us to grab our kids and get under shelter. Kids and parents were running for their cars. I have never seen so many cars rev up and leave so quickly.

The wind went from nothing to strong gusts in the few seconds it took us to run to our car. Even the noise of it was scary. We sat in the car for a few moments and argued about what was the safest thing to do? Sit in a car under the shelter of a large tree or drive the 10 minute journey home? Thunder was booming all around us and the sky had turned a dull green. Our friend Paul pulled his car up to us and pointed at it saying it was a classic sign of large hail stones, often golf ball sized. He suggested we get moving quickly and get shelter anywhere, a petrol station, underground supermarket car park.....

We started driving and found ourselves in a gridlocked road with the rain coming down heavy and the windscreen wipers on full. We inched our way along and then made our way down a small side street where we knew there were a limited number of undercover car spaces. Luckily we got the last one and we huddled under the metal shelter and watched the rain bouncing off the roads.

Within minutes there was a river running down the main street and we watched cars struggle through it. Some broke down, The Fire Brigade screamed past sirens blaring. The thunder and lightning was unbelievable. The kids cuddled up with Carrie and hid in their jumpers until it eased off and we were eventually able to drive on home. What an adventure! At least the plants didn't need watering when we got home!