Ahhhh, the great British Summer; persistent low cloud and rain has been the order of the day and the opportunities to fly have been roughly, nil. There were some lovely days early last week but I was working – looking forward to my week off and the chance to dust the cobwebs off the Auster again and take her out for an exploratory flight up to the North Coast. I want to check out a wreck I saw whilst flying at work; but, that will have to wait. After the amazing fortune that the meteorological Gods bestowed upon us for the North Weald trip I suppose I can’t expect too much, but still; an evening’s trip up to the Banffshire coastline would be nice.

Trouble is; even when it’s not raining, the strip remains a mushy and sodden mess and doesn’t get the chance to dry out before another prolonged down-pour batters it once more. After the rain we’ve had recently ( a month’s worth on one particular day, apparently and in bonny Scotland, that’s a lot of rain ) it will take two days of dry weather for the strip to return to a workable surface.

One consolation, I suppose, is that I’m going down to the Lake District  this weekend to meet up with my brother for some real ale, a little fell walking and the opportunity to take in the sights of the Windermere Air Festival; which even includes a Taylorcraft Auster in the static display: they get everywhere. We’ll see what the weather does then, however and I’m not holding my breath. Nothing can stop us enjoying some Lakeland pints, at least; aside from the repeat flooding of 2009, that is. We shall see!