All over bar

It was the seventh anniversary of the last Shoreham Air Show on August 22. We were there and it had been a lovely day; I went to get a drink and left Donna and our daughter standing a couple of hundred yards away from the trees which stood alongside the A27. They watched a plane dip behind the trees, then saw a ball of fire and smoke rise high into the sky. For a few moments everyone just seemed to assume that it was some sort of pyrotechnic...then the entire crowd went silent, and everyone realised what they'd just witnessed. My stepson and I briefly panicked, because from where we were it looked like the plane had crashed on our side of the A27. A little while later, watching a convoy of ambulances slowly cross the airport, the reality of what had happened really dawned on all of us; it was probably the most poignant thing we have ever seen. Eleven people died. May they all rest in peace.

September 1 marks the start of meteorological Autumn. The Met Office believes that it is likely that high pressure will remain dominant across southern and eastern areas of the UK during the first part of September, allowing for plenty of sunshine and light winds, meaning it will feel warm and possibly very warm at times.

From that we can infer the drought will go on for a bit longer. In our last post we talked about the recent hot weather and dealing with less rainfall. Continuing in that vein, a couple of interesting articles have since come my way: -

Sewage outflows have continued to be high in the news, understandably because we all value our coastal waters (even if we don't live by the sea): -

Staying local, the writer of this article clearly has not tried some of our Chippies.

Meanwhile Earnley has been in the news because of its peacefulness.

If you like large glasshouses and fancy a different local day out (on a Thursday or Friday in the next month) try this.

Our first petition this week is to halve fuel duty.

Our other petition is to give everyone a free amount of energy to cover the basics like heating, cooking, and lighting.

If you want some energy saving ideas, this might give you one or two.

Finally: -