Hailstones and Milestones

I have made no social arrangements of any kind so far this year; the last time I arranged to meet anyone for any reason was during the Christmas holidays, and that was a fairly impromptu plan to meet Rory on New Year's Eve. Er, well, there was that night at the Opera on 8 January with my oldest chum, but I think the planning there originated from him.

Also during the holidays, I contacted several old friends whom I hadn't seen for ages, either by means of Christmas cards or emails, and suggested getting together once 2005 was under way, and by and large (both these last are sailing expressions, apparently - under way used to be under weigh, referring to anchors) the responses were encouraging.

And then what happened? Nothing. Each day I would consider phoning one or other of these old chums and making an arrangement, and then I just didn't. Of course other social events, the quiz; the drinks after work one or two nights a week, went on as normal, so I haven't been a total hermit all this time, but I haven't felt like doing much more. But I knew that this was happening. Part of me was keen to get on with plans thought up during the holidays, and then the other part of me just kept saying no, I was fine as I was; it was too cold; I felt tired, or I was fighting off a cold or flu, whatever.

Gradually, I came to realise that almost everyone else at work had been feeling the same; something to do with it being January, when all the fun is over and there isn't much else to look forward to; people not sleeping properly; people feeling vaguely unwell without being able to put a finger on just why. Then a colleague of mine called Julian pointed out that as far as he was concerned, it was the air pollution that was the problem - it had not, so far this year, rained once, he pointed out.

Of course! That was it. It has been freezing cold and windy, but the freshening, cleansing effects of a good downpour have been absent all year.

So I write as the sky is rapidly brightening after a milestone has been passed: the first precipitations of 2005 in Madrid, and if you are getting ready to accuse me of being pretentious or showing off, using a five-syllable word when a one-syllable one would do, then I will inform you that, in the space of about a quarter of an hour, the sky went so dark that it looked as if it were dusk; and then it rained; the rain turned quickly to hail, which in turn became snow for a minute or two, and then rain again, all to the accompaniment of overhead thunder and lightning (and if people try to point out that thunder and lightning usually are overhead, I mean that the lightning and thunder were virtually simultaneous). So I look forward to all of us feeling a lot better now, and maybe I'll get round to making a few phone calls this afternoon.

Another milestone today is the number of hits the page has had, which passed 2500 (if you go by the Gostats counter - odd how the difference between the two of them varies so much) early this morning. The number is not, maybe, all that high for the eight or so months I have been doing it, but I have not pushed for readership, and have not even told many of my close friends about it, either. There are some regular readers though, and, while I mainly do the thing for my own enjoyment, as I like writing, it has also helped me to feel like more of a Charlton supporter despite being 1,000 miles away in a city where most of the Brits follow the Usual Suspects. It also gives the quiz a chance to reach worldwide fame, too.

So thank you to those of you (and there are others besides you, David) who read the page on a regular basis, and I hope you will continue so to do.