Well, if this is a below-average summer, it’s going to be fab when it goes back to average or above! As it is, you are right:it is a great relief.
Today, in the town of Xativa, 45 kms south of Valencia city, my pal Fernando will be sweating in the kitchen of the restauarant he opened on Friday, in heat forecast for weather, let alone a kitchen, of 41C! Valencia itself is forecast for 38C. Schadenfreude, big time! This is infinitly more interesting
than 300 days of this
I’m familiar with the blitzortung one and its partner lightningmaps.org but I’ve not seen the rain one before and it is indeed enlightening - looking at the whole France at the moment, guess where the really intense rain has been in the past hour - you can nearly locate my house 
(not quite but near enough,)
Chili con carne tonight.
Thanks for reminding me, Sue - we haven’t sorted out what we’re having yet. We’ve had two intense days of cooking between us preparing “ready meals” for the freezer for when we can’t be bothered and also starting making jam, but we completely forgot about tonight 
Just what we’ve dug out for this evening. OH does a mean spaghetti bolognese base in large quantities for freezing which can then be whatever we want. Not sure we’ve defrosted a pack in July before!
We’ve agreed we won’t be eating on the terrace tonight.
Well… rainwater rinses are supposed to be good for the hair… 
Oh boy, can I relate to that 
Sorry but that was a dream Angela.
Andy
We had our best weather in March here in the Clunysois.
Downhill ever since.
Here in the Valley of the Grosne we are always the first in France to have a drought warning.
Not this year though.
I thought I had 2 dead small trees up till last month.
We’ve had so much rain they suddenly sprouted in 2nd week of June and have kept on going.
They’re twice as tall in just one month, as they’ve ever been. 3 times bushier as well. One of them may get too near the house - if wild growth doesn’t stop this month. As it usually would, then more sedate growing till early October. With gales and storms any tree that suddenly grows here is a risk to overhead phone and electricity wires and has to be cut back in case of storms.
In nearly 30 years this is the strangest spring/summer we’ve had. Hoping no weather revenge later this year or next year with deadly drought and canicule - dangerous to people animals and plants
I lost a Mirabelle, a hazelnut and an old red / vigne peach tree last year. I guess it may have been some malady but I think it was 4 years in a row of NO rain for 2-3 months a year and extreme heat for long periods even for here.
Hello Sue
Not sure where you are, but here in 83, Saint Raphael we are enjoying swimming and sailing just about every day. It will probably be so hot in August, that we might move north.
Morning Robert - ah! So it’s you who’s got our summer! Please could you send some our way. 13 degrees here (Lot et Garonne, 47) at the moment and heavy rain due this afternoon.
Rumour has it that we will see some summer next week - up into the 30s. Here’s hoping, for the sake of our guests who arrive Saturday.
Gosh, and you are so far south. The weather over here is not as stable as we are used to at this time of the year, so perhaps we are all seeing a change.
Hope your guests enjoy themselves.
Well I see from my (uninvited 
) Perigueux weather panel on my task bar that it is cloudy and 14 down there, I have been outside and it is comfortably mild though I haven’t seen the thermometre yet, but know from experience that it will be at least 2 degrees higher here. We have long known that we have a micro climate at our house. Situated on a hill overlooking a N/S valley we are sheltered by woodland to the N and E and have often found our grass green on winter mornings when our nearest neighbour’s, 50 metres away, is white.
Back to pond swimming. My pond at 17 yesterday morning was the most pleasurable, and thus extended, swim for several days. This was in misty light rain in a similar air temp to today and I really was reluctant to come out. The overhanging trees prevent the sun warming the water but also they shield my towel, hanging on a handy branch, from getting wet. Shield me from water magnified sunburn too. 
Already arrived. So bang goes getting any more karchering done today! 
