Nice Holiday - Shame About the Weather
Last Friday I took my autistic son on a daytrip to watch the annual air display at Lowestoft.
When we arrived the sun was shining and you couldn't look up at the planes because the sun was so bright.
However, in true British tradition, that didn't last long.
We watched the Red Arrows perform their incredible display with red, white and blue smoke, saw a helicopter performing aerobatics, and covered our ears as an F16 flew over a few times before the first heavy shower fell.
It was short and sharp but because there were so many people at the display, despite almost everyone having umbrellas, we all got wet.
Why? Because everyone was so close together and the rain fell so heavily, it just gushed off the umbrellas like water running down a drainpipe.
My son is taller than I am so the water from his umbrella ran straight into my ear until I managed to get him to move slightly! Anyway, the sun came out again and the display continued.
We saw guys parachuting out of a helicopter onto the beach below, a procession of powerboats bouncing around in the waves, and several other different aircraft, before suddenly the crowds of people began to disperse like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Turning round it wasn't hard to see why.
I have never in my life seen a sky like it - at least not in real life.
I quite expected an alien space ship to land any minute.
A darkness came over the whole area, thunder crashed, lightening struck and the rain fell down vertically so it was no good trying to stand next to a wall to shelter.
The day ended with us being cold, wet and bedraggled, but we were very lucky as we were there just for the day.
I felt really sorry for the people who were on holiday, especially those looking for cheap family holidays and were camping.
It must have been awful.
We've all heard of the great British spirit, stiff upper lip and all that, so most people just get on with it and make the best of things.
However, for many people the summer holiday is all they have to look forward to each year and the weather can make or break it.
Some people wait and take last minute holidays.
This year the Met Office long range forecast was for a bar-b-que summer and I'm sure local businesses were rubbing their hands in glee.
However, so far it's turned into a damp squib.
I love UK and there are some beautiful places to visit.
Apparently this year, two out of three families are choosing to have a stacation in UK instead of having a vacation "abroad", and many caravan and camping sites are fully booked.
It seems fears about Swine Flu and the exchange rate have put many people off travelling, so the last minute cheap package holiday deals are suffering.
Too many people have bad memories of horrendous accommodation, which in reality looked nothing like it did in the glossy brochures, so they've decided unless you can be guaranteed quality 4 star holidays as a cheap package, then it's just not worth the risk.
That's great news for the local tourist industry.
They have a short season and rely on the summer holiday industry.
However, we all know UK doesn't have the best amusements and facilities, and if the weather is bad, going out for the day can be a pretty expensive affair, especially if you have several children.
Most kids like to swim, but on our regional news yesterday some parents were understandably complaining because two local swimming pools had been closed for essential repairs.
This meant their children had no-where to go during the long summer holidays.
The councils said they understood the concern, but didn't want to disrupt school swimming lessons during term time.
Not a good idea! Anyway, as I said, I love UK, but there's a whole big world out there and sometimes it's just as cheap to travel abroad as it is to stay here.
If you know where to look you can get incredibly affordable luxury accommodation at prime resorts all over the world for little more, and sometimes less, than you'd pay to stay at home.
Whilst the travel costs may be more expensive to go "abroad", often the savings on food and entertainment, combined with the weather conditions you actually want and expect, can often make up for it,.
I suspect this year there are more than a few people who've regretted listening to the "bar-b-que" summer forecast!
When we arrived the sun was shining and you couldn't look up at the planes because the sun was so bright.
However, in true British tradition, that didn't last long.
We watched the Red Arrows perform their incredible display with red, white and blue smoke, saw a helicopter performing aerobatics, and covered our ears as an F16 flew over a few times before the first heavy shower fell.
It was short and sharp but because there were so many people at the display, despite almost everyone having umbrellas, we all got wet.
Why? Because everyone was so close together and the rain fell so heavily, it just gushed off the umbrellas like water running down a drainpipe.
My son is taller than I am so the water from his umbrella ran straight into my ear until I managed to get him to move slightly! Anyway, the sun came out again and the display continued.
We saw guys parachuting out of a helicopter onto the beach below, a procession of powerboats bouncing around in the waves, and several other different aircraft, before suddenly the crowds of people began to disperse like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Turning round it wasn't hard to see why.
I have never in my life seen a sky like it - at least not in real life.
I quite expected an alien space ship to land any minute.
A darkness came over the whole area, thunder crashed, lightening struck and the rain fell down vertically so it was no good trying to stand next to a wall to shelter.
The day ended with us being cold, wet and bedraggled, but we were very lucky as we were there just for the day.
I felt really sorry for the people who were on holiday, especially those looking for cheap family holidays and were camping.
It must have been awful.
We've all heard of the great British spirit, stiff upper lip and all that, so most people just get on with it and make the best of things.
However, for many people the summer holiday is all they have to look forward to each year and the weather can make or break it.
Some people wait and take last minute holidays.
This year the Met Office long range forecast was for a bar-b-que summer and I'm sure local businesses were rubbing their hands in glee.
However, so far it's turned into a damp squib.
I love UK and there are some beautiful places to visit.
Apparently this year, two out of three families are choosing to have a stacation in UK instead of having a vacation "abroad", and many caravan and camping sites are fully booked.
It seems fears about Swine Flu and the exchange rate have put many people off travelling, so the last minute cheap package holiday deals are suffering.
Too many people have bad memories of horrendous accommodation, which in reality looked nothing like it did in the glossy brochures, so they've decided unless you can be guaranteed quality 4 star holidays as a cheap package, then it's just not worth the risk.
That's great news for the local tourist industry.
They have a short season and rely on the summer holiday industry.
However, we all know UK doesn't have the best amusements and facilities, and if the weather is bad, going out for the day can be a pretty expensive affair, especially if you have several children.
Most kids like to swim, but on our regional news yesterday some parents were understandably complaining because two local swimming pools had been closed for essential repairs.
This meant their children had no-where to go during the long summer holidays.
The councils said they understood the concern, but didn't want to disrupt school swimming lessons during term time.
Not a good idea! Anyway, as I said, I love UK, but there's a whole big world out there and sometimes it's just as cheap to travel abroad as it is to stay here.
If you know where to look you can get incredibly affordable luxury accommodation at prime resorts all over the world for little more, and sometimes less, than you'd pay to stay at home.
Whilst the travel costs may be more expensive to go "abroad", often the savings on food and entertainment, combined with the weather conditions you actually want and expect, can often make up for it,.
I suspect this year there are more than a few people who've regretted listening to the "bar-b-que" summer forecast!
Source...