Weather

The British are supposed to talk about the weather more than most, but we've found our French acquain- tances pretty adept at it! We moved here for the 300+ days of sunshine a year you get in the 'banana' along the Languedoc coast of the Med, even when it is stormy and cloudy over the Cevennes inland. Like today for instance, with a clear lue sky and temperature already 26° at 9 in the morning. One of the few things I remember from our geography teacher Barney Jacob, who had catch-phrases including 'med typ clim' (for Mediterranean-type climate) which we have now learnt means weather like this. Not really surprising when I think about it!

On clear days like today the wind comes either from the north or north-west - Mistral or Tramontane - and the humidity drops well below 50%, so washing dries quickly but you have to water the plants more (and it's never really enough - lots of people have automatic watering systems here). The northerly wind can be quite violent (common motorway sign - VENT VIOLENT SOYEZ PRUDENTS) but usually it's just a pleasant cooling breeze in summer. On the frequent bright winter days it's another matter, positively cold.

Then quite suddenly the wind will switch - anywhere from easterly through southerly to westerly brings humidity and cloud from the sea and just sometimes rain. When it rains it rains. 15-25 mm in an hour is not uncommon, and we once had 50 mm. Naturally the drains cannot cope and if you go out you wade through lakes.

Lunel is prone to flooding, but luckily we are on the good side of town, 11 m above sea level as opposed to 9 on the east side where houses are regularly flooded. This comes partly from flash floods from storms here and partly from the river Vidourle which runs about a km east of the town and brings the accumulated storm waters from the Cevennes. It is one of the most notorious rivers in France for flooding, and the town of Sommières a few km upstream has terrible floods once every 20-30 years, with perhaps 2-3 metres of water reaching up to the first floors of houses in the town centre. Stories of large fish in people's bedrooms are commonplace. This is not new - at the Roman site of Ambrussum on the river between here and Sommières excavations have revealed buildings destroyed by floods and rebuilt each time a little higher above the river at 25 year intervals 2000 years ago. Rivers in France have genders - Le Rhône, La Loire - but Le Vidourle is considered by locals to be almost god-like and so above gender, just Vidourle.

Oh yes, and we sometimes have snow, but not for long!