Autumn showers

WE ARE driving along the Coast Road towards the Pub when the heavens truly open!

We are pelted by a shattering downpour, rain so heavy that it bounces off the road and forms a mist that blurs the line between the concrete of the road and heavy, water-laden air.

And as if this isn't enough, the gale blowing in from across the expanse of Morecambe sands, lashes the stair rods of rain into a deafeningly shrieking menace - the whole car (by no means lightweight) shakes as if buffeted by a giant, wet hand.

My Good Lady and I glance at one another, both sharing the same thought which she puts into words: "I wonder why we came out today when we didn't have to."

We do get there safely, and soon afterwards the shower ceases and the sun comes out. Returning home, in fact, we have the opposite problem: sunlight bounces off the wet road dazzlingly.

"I'm hungry," MGL remarks. I'm cooking this evening and I assure her that dinner shouldn't take long.

I do us an old favourite this evening, although a new recipe for me: Chicken à la King; leftover chicken shredded into a creamy mushroom sauce (actually, made up from a packet of dried mushroom soup) and served on rice with a few extra fried mushrooms on the side.

We sit in the comfort of our kitchen enjoying our tasty meal and watch as yet another heavy shower rattles against the window. It seems that autumn has arrived with a vengeance!