The thing that mystifies me most of all, out of all the conundrums that life regularly throws at me with abandon, is why … if it’s going to rain at all in a day … WHY do the heavens always open just around three o’clock in the afternoon?
Don’t believe me? Then ask a parent of a school age child and you’ll find them nodding away in complete agreement.
Three o’clock is that magic time of the day known as “pick up time”. The time where every second ticks slowly by as you stand in the playground waiting for the home-time bell, shivering and usually wet, trying to make intelligent-sounding conversation while avoiding playground politics with other parents (most of whom you have nothing else in common with other than the fact their offspring goes to the same school as your own).
Conversely, it hardly ever rains at 9am. Why is that? If it rained at 9am rather than at 3pm, I get to send Akra Jr in early (they let them go straight in – heaven forbid they get a chill and lower the school’s attendance records. It’s only parents who are allowed to get pneumonia in the playground), so of course it doesn’t rain then.
There’s probably some logical climatological explanation to do with the clouds forming and warming up as the day progresses before they can release precipitation, but I prefer using Occam’s Razor in situations such as these.
The simplest explanation can only be that the universe is out to get me.
Read more about things that mystify others at participating Bloghuh? blogs this week:
Aprosexic
Blue Witch
bob’s yer uncle
Changing Places
Depthmarker
In the Aquarium
Jen&HerBoat
Kitchen Witch
La Que Sabe
London Daily Photo
Purple Pen
Quixotic Evil
Santiago Dreaming
Tabula Rasa
Who Knows Where Thoughts Come From?
12 responses so far ↓
1 Alley Katt // 11th Jan 2007 at 4:27 pm
Of course the car park is always full of teacher’s cars and the only car park you can use is five minutes walk away. I am lucky (err – ish) as I am disabled, when it is raining, I get a friend of mine to pick my daughter up, and because my son goes to a special needs school, he goes by mini-bus.
2 bob // 11th Jan 2007 at 4:54 pm
I lived through similar weather patterns in when I lived in New Orleans and Houston. It was like clockwork.
3 Paula // 11th Jan 2007 at 7:32 pm
With you on that one Pewari, only we have the added delight of gale force winds strong enough to make brollies impossible!
4 ian // 11th Jan 2007 at 8:12 pm
Either
a). Because of the amount of cars driven about half a mile to the school to collect the little dears causing pollution.
or
b) Because you lied when you were seventeen
5 Alley Katt // 11th Jan 2007 at 8:29 pm
Heh, no what irritates me is the people who drive to the school, and it would take them less time to walk through the alleyway. THAT infuriates the hell out of me. In the days when we are getting health conscious and trying to get our kids to stay fit – some of the parents would rather drive their kids quarter of a mile to school even in the summer. I live over a mile away from the school, and the only times I ask my friend to take my daughter is when it is heavy rain and wind. Normal rain is fine, we’ll walk in that, but some parents won’t.
6 Emily // 12th Jan 2007 at 9:47 am
I live in a microclimate and it is sunny here when just five miles away it will be raining like crazy. It has been so windy here this week, it’s been like the end of the world. I got for a walk at 10.30 until about 12 and feel like I’ve done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. THen at 2-4pm it is all sunshine and because it is so mild it is almost tshirt weather!
Maybe you need to change schools to one in Whistable!
7 cassie-b // 12th Jan 2007 at 1:26 pm
I leave work at 3:00. Now I know why it rains at that time.
8 bob's yer uncle // 12th Jan 2007 at 4:24 pm
Bloghuh? 5…
Don’t know the drill? Click here and you will. :: :: :: To quote the immortal word of Nancy Kerrigan, “Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?” People actually bought, and presumably read, this. I assume it’s less painful than a lead pipe to the shins, but one can’t be…
9 Pewari // 12th Jan 2007 at 4:39 pm
Ugh, we have the high winds here too – in part thanks to living close to the Malverns we get a nice wind tunnel effect.
It would take me longer to drive to school than walk on foot here, funnily enough. I have never done it, even in the foulest weather despite temptation. I only ever drive if we have to go on to a dentist appointment straight after and then only under extremely tight timings (I loathe the school carpark it’s a nightmare).
10 Alley Katt // 13th Jan 2007 at 2:02 am
Whitstable? I am just 20 minutes down the road from you then. Just outside of Folkestone. Because we live on the downs – it sure gets windy here. I went over to the shop with my wife, I had my walking stick in one hand and the trolley in the other, and the trolley kept getting lifted off the ground!
11 valb // 15th Jan 2007 at 1:29 am
Very well observed Pewari! Beautiful sunshine when I leave the house, but as I am driving there I can see the clouds sweeping over, and by the time I pull up it is chucking it down. Also, our school yard could be hired out for aerodynamic testing of cars, etc. as it’s a real wind tunnel, even when there is hardly a breath of wind anywhere else – strange! And yes, I do drive to the school, but I feel that a 5 mile walk might be pushing it a bit…
12 Pewari // 15th Jan 2007 at 7:44 pm
Yep, 5 mile walk is definitely pushing it – especially if expecting the small children to do that walk as well!
Akra Jr has done a 5 mile walk (for leisure purposes) but it took us a good couple of hours – wouldn’t fancy that there and back daily ;)
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