First rain of Autumn

Yesterday it rained.

No! Please don’t run away and do stop yawning, in Beirut that’s serious news.

Talking about news, I get it from a text messaging service, which tells me about earthquakes, murders, air crashes and other happy, happy stuff. The day before yesterday, it sent me, for the first time ever, a weather forecast. “There will be rain and the temperature will drop” said the message.

Now, being British I’m used to going out for any trip lasting more than five minutes carrying sun-glasses, an umbrella, a pair of shorts and an overcoat. OK, I exaggerate, ten minutes maximum though.

So I just deleted the message without giving it too much thought. Something of a mistake since the forecast was an understatement. About mid-day, the clouds lowered, the sun disappeared and the lightening started, spectacular, regular fork lightening. The darkness increased and then it happened, although I was driving along the Corniche – the road beside the sea – the Med just disappeared, drowned in rain.

Neither the city, nor its inhabitants are designed for the wet stuff. There is a ritual storm drain opening which takes place after the first rain of winter, so, when the first rain happens, roads became little rivers. Trying to drive through said little rivers, taxis stall with damp electrics and the simple result was that Beirut was grid-locked less than 20 minutes later. Eventually the place got sorted out, but not before a ten minute trip had taken me more than an hour to complete.

Today it rained again, but this time, the storm drains were open, the taxis that were likely to break down stayed off the road and, best of all, there’s no school on a Saturday.

But who am I to jest at the expense of Beirut, when at the sight of a snowflake in Kent, it seems that all the trains in Britain stop running.

The moral of this story? We’re all good at coping with what we are used to. In England we can cope with rain, in Beirut sunshine is fine, in Tierra del Fuego wind isn’t a problem and in Bermuda houses can withstand hurricanes. Stick with what you know is the message.

Note to self, must check the windows on the balcony, in case it rains again tomorrow.