Today the rain is teeming; as I sit here I can hear the swish of the cars passing below my window on the soaking wet roads. It has rained every day this week and I am really grateful to whoever it is that organizes the weather. The sun has been a real headache for me lately. I have had to restrict my movements and apply really strong sun cream as direct sunlight stimulates my radiation. If this glorious rain remains with us, I can be out and about all day. It is much more pleasant to be wet than burnt. Yes of course I can wear protective clothing such as hats and what have you, but they do become a little tiresome after a while. I shall head off to the beach shortly and I guess it will be pretty well empty, the ideal place to take a dog with an ASBO. I have just checked out the AIS, and I note that there are no cruise ships in Douglas today. Well I guess that sort of proves that the rain is not just kept back purely for the cruise passengers. I suppose that most folk who are on holiday on the island today will be disappointed at having to spend a day in the rain. For an island where it rains a lot we don’t actually cater very well for rainy days. It’s not always a negative though. You might take shelter in a pub or café today and strike up a new friendship with someone that will last for the rest of your life. You might end up visiting a museum or art gallery, and having a really good day out and maybe even buying a painting that ends up adorning your lounge wall giving you much pleasure for many years. Of course you might end up just sitting at home or in your hotel room being thoroughly miserable. I guess it’s up to you. Whatever you do it’s always a good idea not to set your expectation levels too high. Sometimes we hope for better things but have to accept what we are given rather than what we might have wanted. Always be aware of the story of the blind man pushing his friend in a wheelchair through the desert.

The blind man had been pushing his pal through the desert in the hot sun for hours. Both men had become very tired and thirsty. All of a sudden, the man in the wheelchair spotted an oasis. He guided the blind man to the edge of a small lake. The blind man could not contain himself and leapt into the lake. As the blind man emerged on the other side of the lake fully refreshed and cooled from the hot sun, he discovered to his astonishment that he had regained his eye sight. He danced around the lake in wild delirium. “For Heaven’s sake,” said his wheelchair bound friend. “Will you please stop bouncing around like a loon and push me in to the damn lake!” The former blind man gave the wheelchair a ruddy great shove and it hurtled into the lake. As the chair emerged on the other side of the lake, the man looked down to find a new pair of tyres on his on his wheelchair!

Now, I hope you all feel a little better, I do!

This is Tom Glassey in the rain, on the banks of the Silverburn River.