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Once again the weather has made the headlines this week, with scenes of the terrible floods in Dubai.
Even at home, conversations and tv weather reports have all referred to the cold wind and only occasional and fleeting spring sunshine.
We've always had a tendency to obsess about the weather, haven't we? In this country it's largely due to the unpredictability and variety of conditions we experience. Sadly these days we're also seeing more extreme weather, as is the case all over the world.
In the new book by nature writer, Matt Gaw, climate crisis is inevitably mentioned but he also wants us to show us how we can appreciate and celebrate the huge mix of weather conditions in Britain - to see and feel the changing landscape, to understand the response from flora and fauna, to appreciate how our character is shaped and our creativity prompted by the rain and shine, the fog and frost, the snow and ice...
And just like Matt Gaw - and David Nicholls and Olivia Laing (see below) - we shouldn't just watch the changing weather through the window. For a myriad of reasons, highlighted in these books of fiction, memoir and observation, we should be out in the air and the countryside, experiencing it at first hand.
The fell walker and guide book author Alfred Wainwright said 'there is no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing'.
This is exactly the message Matt Gaw shares with us in his wonderful new book. He'll be coming along to Framlingham in a few days' time to introduce 'In All Weathers' and tell us more about the walks and weather he enjoyed. Perhaps he'll also share something of how he relates his experiences through such stunningly perceptive and lyrical writing.
I hope you'll join me in meeting Matt again - he visited us in Woodbridge some years ago for his first book about travelling Britain's rivers in a canoe. (I wonder if he'd be so keen to do that today?) He's a very inspiring and engaging speaker who writes beautifully. Do scroll down for details and reserve your place.
But for tomorrow, hopefully the weather won't prevent us from meeting together for our book group discussion in Woodbridge. Please let me know if you are planning on coming along. I hope to see you there!
Thank you for reading.