The weather is  always a hot topic of conversation here in Scotland.  Yes, we Scots just love having a right good moan about it!  Usually we moan about the wind and rain and about how cold it is.  However, many Scots (you know who you are!) even have a winge about the heat on the odd day that the mercury nudges 25 C. 

Yesterday’s weather was atrocious, even by Scotland’s standards.  It poured with rain constantly for 24 hours, resulting in swollen rivers, blocked drains, water-logged roads being closed and huge pond-like puddles everywhere you looked.  It was a thoroughly miserable day!

This was all the more depressing to me because it was the weekend, with Hubby only home for two days and requiring his work clothes to be laundered, and the girls requiring their school uniforms to be laundered.  Not currently having a tumble dryer, I fast ran out of radiators and clothes horses to hang everything.  It also has to be said that I hate the smell of wet laundry in the house, almost as much as I hate the rain!

However, I am very thankful that we in Central Scotland did not experience the severe weather conditions of our fellow Scots in Aberdeenshire.  Aberdeen experienced an entire month’s rainfull in just one day!  Neighbouring towns of Huntly and Stonehaven suffered the most, with rivers of water cascading down streets and flooding people’s homes and businesses.  You can read about the devastation caused in Aberdeenshire here:

• Heavy Rain Causes Flooding Chaos
• Flooding – in pictures

We were unaware of any problems up North.  Instead we were bemoaning the abysmal weather that we had to put up with over the weekend.

To prevent “Cabin Fever” and to let the girls use up some of their energy without turning my house upside down, we decided to take the girls to their favourite softplay centre, Cadwinkles.  On our way there we noticed that the road under the motorway bridge just outside town was badly flooded at one side.  This area always seems to flood after a spell of heavy rain.  Generally, most of the roads on our journey were pretty waterlogged, but most drivers were driving with extra care.

When we arrived at Cadwinkles, the car park looked very busy, so I left Hubby and the kids safe and dry in the car while I went inside to check if there was space for the girls to play.  In fact, it turned out that many like-minded parents had decided to bring their children to the soft play centre on such a wet miserable day, so we had a short wait (about 10-15 minutes) to get in.

Once inside, the girls had a ball, playing on the slides and climbing aparatus, playing hide and seek and just goofing around.  Meanwhile Hubby and I sat with a coffee and the Sunday papers.  Bliss.

It was still pouring with rain when we left Cadwinkles.  We were all hungry, but we didn’t have much time to stop off somewhere to have dinner.  Hubby had to set off back down South for his work.  Therefore, we decided that we would just get some Happy Meals at the McDonalds Drive-thru. We would wait until we got home to eat, as it should take just 10 minutes to drive home from McDonalds.

However, it actually took us twice as long to get home, as we ended up being diverted through a neighbouring village.  The waterlogged road under the motorway bridge was now so severely flooded that the police had closed the road.

This morning, the torrential rain had simmered down to a little drizzle, which eventually gave way to bright sunshine.  However, come lunchtime, the dull wet weather was back with a vengeance, and silly me had left my umbrella at home!

Just like the Carpenters once sang:

“Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”

Still, as I said before, I’m just thankfull that I didn’t have to endure the severe weather like the folk up in Aberdeenshire.

Don’t forget to enter my current giveaway to win a preschool puzzle from Barefoot Books.  Visit the relevant post here.