December: Windy Weather

The sky is very dramatic today – all colours. The wind is roaring through the conifers and bending and swaying the Eucalyptus tree.

To the south and south-west, the sky is a bruised blue- black, then light splodges which change shape fast – pale blue – pinkish – copper and white. Here and there is a small puffy black cloud, like smoke from a cannon. The wind is driving the changes at a fantastic pace.

In the bedroom overlooking the long view, the gusts smash into the french doors and growl down the chimney.

There is an orange glow over the South Downs on the horizon. Impressive drama. Better than any action film.

I need to rescue the chair from the deck by the pond, but it’s too rough to venture out. Huge black clouds are racing over the house. It has gone from daylight to dusk here, but in the distance the sky is baby blue, with a mound of black cumulus clouds pounding towards us and away to the north- east.