The first rain

As is well known I grew up in the north west of England, counties which every year give water fresh from the lush green hills to a drought stricken South East. When I first moved away I, like my Biblical forebears, spent 40 days and nights in downpour. That land was of course Swansea, where roads are rivers and bicycle riding involves more swimming than peddling. So rain was my home for many years.

Despite my ten year acclimatisation programme of living in London and environs, where people question whether it will ever stop raining after half a day unlike Manchester where it's seen as showering if it's stopped for half an hour in a week, having no rain at all has been gnawing at my soul. The streets are dry and dusty, I need a sun hat not a rain coat and the only water I feel on my face is from sweating or showering. I have begun to feel like a parched flower wilting in the sun.

According to the tales I've heard, the rains are not necessarily good news. The mosquitos increase and need more blood meals while breeding. The drainage is limited, not having experienced the works of Bazzlegette and his ilk so streets are muddy to the point where VSOs have lost shoes and the street level sewers overflow. The frogs come out and creak through the night like an embarrassing hostel bed. Unwashed roofs are flushed of six months worth of dirt and debris and houses collapse as leaks have developed and are found too late. The humidity rises to unbearable levels so hair smells mouldy when left up. Yet my heart and soul is aching for rain, and the rumour is before the end of May they will arrive.

May 31st arrives. Water is off at home so I visit the hotel for a swim, then a gang of VSOs for a beer. No sign of rain. We take a trip to a local cafe and I order the very English fish and chips, though it arrives seriously tasty with peppered, breaded fillets deep fried and served with coleslaw and spaghetti as a salad alongside chips. It definitely has the Gambian twist. [photos below, apologies for the low lighting]

As I ate the sky began to flash and with three hours of May left, lightning was started flashing in sheets across the sky. We doubted rain and watched the display intensify over the next hour, building in forked elements and increasingly rapid. Speckles of water started to fill the air. Then the rain came.

It fell heavily; relief from the tension of the atmosphere was palpable. I stood outside and danced in it, joined by my friend Abdou who loves the rain too. Then we came inside to watch sparkling curtains glittering from the corrugated eaves with VSO friends, Nicola and Natalie.

The shower was short, well under an hour. Walking home the air smelt of hummus, like Assam tea freshly and strongly brewed. Though I may hate it by the end, this first rain was truly beautiful.