A mini tornado swept through Hampshire and West Sussex on Saturday afternoon, bringing down yet more trees, including one on our drive. However, it's the flooding that has been the real sickener of this winter. My sister lives on the Somerset Levels and lives in fear of every shower. The bridge next to her house has been closed for weeks and there is water in every direction.
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Later this week, the shooting season will come to a close. The last few days of shooting are always traditionally given to the beaters-never can they have been better deserved than after this soaking winter. A huge thank-you to all of you. However, every cloud has a silver lining. My fishing friends are ecstatic at the volume of water that's filled the rivers, topped up the aquifers and washed all the rubbish and debris away. Water is their godsend.
Looking back at the past eight years that I've edited this magazine, we seem to have constantly been in either a drought or a flood. It's not that long ago that we had an article on whether we should transport water from northern Britain to the South-East. Outside, it's raining again, but I suspect we'll be revisiting those sorts of plans before too long. The weather is becoming more and more unusual.
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The Country Life guide to Somerset: What to do, where to stay and how to eatSomerset is rich in natural beauty and history, but it is its wealth of small-scale food and drink producers, farmers and makers that really set it apart from the competition. Find out how to make the most of it all with our indispensable guide.
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How to make a gloomy city garden into a haven of colour and natureTiffany Daneff discovers how to transform a typically dark London back garden into a light-filled green haven that is always in use. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
