April Showers, composed by Louis Silvers with lyrics by B.G. De Sylva, was first sung by Al Jolson in the Broadway Musical "Bombo" in 1921.
The words conjure up gentle April showers, giving rise to beautiful May flowers. A quick look into the fields on the way to work recently shows that we're not having April showers but have had a deluge of rainwater since last autumn. The temperatures forecast for the weekend are the highest since October last year, which is six and a half months.
It's been a pretty dank and dreary winter. We haven't had any extreme cold weather in the South West of England to be of notice. There was a flurry of snow a few weeks ago, but here in East Devon, it was just rain. I can only remember a few occasions where I have had to scrape frost or ice from my car before work.
On Friday morning, I was travelling to work at about 0730 and starting work at 0800. Work is only 20 minutes or so up the A30. I travel at different times during the week, depending on my shift. Friday was an early shift, but I also have shifts that start at 0900 and the late one starting at 1000. The journeys at these times are very different.
When I drive to work at 0800, the A30 turns into a race track. The lorries had been on the move early after being laid up overnight, especially as the clocks went forward an hour last week. These lorries cause the inside lane, where we should all be if we use the road correctly, to be quite busy. Travelling at 70 miles per hour is OK, as by using both lanes properly, you can maintain distance and speed. Therein lies the problem. As people see that the inside lane is full of heavy goods vehicles, they put their collective feet down, and the outside lane turns into a speed track. Couple this with our not-so-gentle April showers, and it becomes quite a journey to work. Vans are the worst offenders. The same vans are limited to 60 miles per hour for the national speed limit, even on dual carriageways and motorways.
I have struggled to find what to write about this week; I must admit there is nothing new there. I started thinking about the weather, but it morphed into my journey to work this morning, which was particularly challenging due to the weather and driving styles. Anyway, we're here, and it has worked.
This week's writing update is that I remain trying to get most of the rewrite of 'Beasting Dartmoor' before next month's holiday. I have had the start of a short story I'm writing edited this week, and I can progress with that for the Ottery Writers' upcoming anthology later in the year. By the time that goes to print and provided my story is accepted, I hope to have 'Beasting' ready for professional editing or submission to publishers. There is a lot of work to do then. My second novel, 'Mince Pie Murders, ' will progress at a slightly slower pace for a few months, with the target of publication ready for Christmas 2025 still very much the aim. By then, I expect to have my third novel on the go, and who knows, I may have a fourth on the back burner.
I'm pleased to say I'm back on my website after trouble with usernames and passwords. I need to settle down over the weekend, watch how to set it up and prepare it for publication. I can't promise that next week's blog will be in a new place, but we will be very close to it.
Have a great writing week ahead. On Sunday evening, I will review my weekly calendar and organise the writing week ahead. Let's hope it won't be too long before the weather changes from "Drip Drip Drop Little April Showers" to "Sunny Days."
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