So runs the nursery rhyme. This month’s storms, bringing with them the misery of floods and ruined homes in many parts of Britain, seem never-ending. We spent last week in Cornwall as it happens, where some of the worst weather was being experienced. The coastal towns saw waves crashing over harbour walls and flooding the streets. Tides were reaching record levels and the railway line at Dawlish in Devon has been left hanging in mid-air. There was something quite surreal about seeing that rail wavering in the wind, the ballast beneath completely washed away. Now we hear there could be snow — oh joy. Not all is bleak though. Our trip to Cornwall, though wet and windy in the extreme, was without incident. The house, Treleigh, is built well above the road and so set safely above sea level, thankfully. The town quay did not fare so well as you can see by the photograph below. Wellingtons were the order of the day here. We did see this enormous ship being towed to safety along the Fowey river by local tug boats, right outside our window. We also had one day’s respite from the wind and rain, during which we walked from Fowey to Golant and back, in sunshine. Golant is about 4 miles away. We had thought we would stop in Golant for a drink and a bite to eat but alas, all was shut. We had to come straight back. Still, the photographs really did make it worthwhile. You can barely see the deep mud we had to trek through, our boots threatening to come off our feet at every step. It reminded me of a walk in the Lake District when our children were small – speaks for itself…or rather Laura does… Back home in Hampshire, the weather has been similarly atrocious but on Wednesday, I braved the woods with Flossie. The weather was slightly calmer than it has been and the trees were not bending quite so alarmingly. Even so, we took the wider paths just in case. On returning home I had a very wet and muddy dog who allowed me to shampoo and shower her. I was wearing my pink jacket at the time. Today, I decided another trek to the woods was in order in spite of the rain. A friend accompanied us. I wore the pink coat again. Mid-way through the walk, my friend looked at me, oddly. “What’s that on your coat?” she asked. I followed her gaze to my sleeve. The entire sleeve was lathering up and as I watched, the other sleeve followed suit. In fact, the entire front of my coat was foaming like mad. Lesson learnt: “You must never hug your dog close whilst shampooing her—” I sound like my little grandson, Leon, who solemnly told me at breakfast the other morning, “There are 5 rules Grandma: Rule number one is: you must always listen to adults…” Well, there is always a silver lining — my washing machine broke down this morning, this could be a new way of washing clothes — perhaps the rain can stay a while longer…