 Poster: A snowHead
|
Although it's provided dividends for summer skiers, in terms of fresh snow for the glaciers, recent turbulent weather in the Alps has not been good news for the sightseeing trades or farmers.
This report from SwissInfo.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
It's mixed for the farmers actually; it's certainly flattened some of the cereal crops though. Last year was so ridiculously hot and dry that this is a relief really.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Yes it's one of those funny things, heavy rain tends to damage cereal crops but on the other hand it means that mountain pastures tend to have more grass which helps the cattle and sheep farms, the difficulty will be if it continues for much longer as it will then be difficult to get a decent hay cut for winter feed
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Here in N. I. we've had a fantastic start to the summer back in May/ June with our silage crops being harvested in excellent conditions.
It has been pretty wet since then with hay crops suffering badly and second cut silage harvesting being delayed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Bone dry in the south of France, an endless drought, the dividing line being a little south of Lyon. They even cancelled the traditional 14th of July fireworks displays, first time for years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
A wet summer probably means that Autumn will be sunny and dry and we'll all be praying for rain come winter and it will be as dry as a bone - no snow 
On the plus side, its a bumper season for British strawberries!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
And cream, presumably.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No cream for me! Ruins the flavour.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
Ever tried fresh ground black pepper on strawbs ? Give it a go. Splosh of kirsch gives the finishing touch. And the pepper also works well on honeydew melons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
So it's off to Switzerland to eat a nice bowl of English strawberries, black pepper, and a splash of local kirsch, in the pouring rain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
English strawberries? You have to be joking, Swiss (or German for that matter) are way better, served with some cream and a meringue
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
|
Not sure it's where they are grown, but the manner in which they are grown. The ones out of my back garden were superb.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
skanky, if they're all grown properly it's going to amount to the same thing. Obviously, it's Switzerland so they're excellent but cost 100 quid a kilo, whereas Germany produces surpringly good strawberries for a more reasonable price.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
The variety also counts. English strawberries now are confined to one or two types which are not grown for flavour but for speed, resistance to mould etc. There are also grown in hideous poly tunnels which disfigure the countryside and usually picked by immigrant workers, who are exploited by gang-masters. Shanky is right home-grown fruit will beat factory-farmed every time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
We also have some wild strawberries which have a very high yield in terms of numbers (and spread over quite a long time), though the actual size is very small. They are really nice (thougha bit different to cultivated strawberries) and we've used them with other foods rather than on their own.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
From a recent Daily Torygraph, an article on the poly tunnel blight (Registration required)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
£100 a kilo -  Are they supplied in gold boxes or something!
Nice steer back on topic Mr Goldsmith!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
| kuwait_ian wrote: |
| From a recent Daily Torygraph, an article on the poly tunnel blight (Registration required) |
Nope. Link worked straight through (thanks kuwait_ian). Don't think I am registered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
It'll probably work until it times out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Pleased the link works. There was another article in the DT a few days back about the methyl bromide used to sterilise the soil in polytunnels. Very nasty stuff and outlawed in some countries but not yet in UK. Unfortunately the article is not available in the electronic version.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Bumper strawberry crops are all very well, but if you can't eat them in the sun, they're not much fun.
Here's a report from msnbc news about the atrocious July weather all over central and northern Europe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's really not been that bad, in fact it's been like this since Christmas. Short periods of precipitation alternating with short periods of sunshine. It’s unusual for recent times though; the last few years around Europe we’ve had more stable weather, long periods finished by large thunderstorms.
It’s actually quite agreeable, in the winter we got some good snow followed by some sunny days to enjoy it and now the garden’s green and we don’t go more than a few days without being to eat dinner outside, unlike last year where we had long periods where the temperatures were over 30’c all the time, now we can cycle, walk, go to the latke, ski on glaciers etc etc.
A lot of that report’s complete rubbish, I doubt it was 50’f (10’c) in Geneva yesterday apart from very early in the morning or in the night. It’s only down the road and it was a beautiful day here, clear skies, sunshine and around 30’c at 1800 as I was driving to the supermarket. We were sat in the garden having a BBQ until 2100 and it was 22’c when we went inside. It’s around the same today and was on Wednesday as well.
And we were sat outside eating strawberries both days 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The actual high and low for Geneva yesterday (as reported by weather.com) were:
High = 27*C
Low = 10*C
(Remember the observed high will likely be lower than many other reported highs as it will be a screen temperature).
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
when though ? I presume it's over a 24hr period, 10'c for a night time temp' sounds pretty reasonable to me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9am -> 9am is I think the reporting time. The low is theoretically about 6am though the actual weather conditions and local vaguaries will affect that.
When I stayed in Geneva there was a channel on the local cable that showe the weather at Cointrain (I think it was the airport) and the record over the last 24(?) hours. I guess you don't get that channel?
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
skanky, no, I don't have any Swiss TV at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
Ah. Okay. It's mainly foreign channels, anyway.
Anyway, Weather Underground says that the 10*C was recorded at 6:20am yesterday morning.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ise, you made an important point about precipitation. We easily forget the importance of rain. In southern European tourist areas there's increasing concern about drought, and the phenomenal quantities of water used....
...to irrigate golf courses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Said tongue in cheek no doubt! The amount used to water the golf courses is of course negligeable in comparison to that used for agricultural purposes...
The low level of the rivers may appear alarming, but agricultural usage in the likes of the Vaucluse region of Provence is drawn directly from these, at different points along their course. The Rhone itself is still quite high. The biggest concern is the fire risk. As mentioned elsewhere, they had a ban on firework displays for the 14th of July celebrations in parts of southern France because of this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
PG, no not tongue in cheek. According to a report in today's Guardian, each of 200 golf courses around the Med consumes the equivalent in water to a town of 12,000 people.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
I presume no farmers live in the hypothetical town of 12,000 people then. My Provençal neighbour alone must consume a good town's worth with his 20 acres of strawberries, etc. This is the problem with soundbite journalism, engineered to grab attention (worrying that the Guardian should do this). The paper is entirely justified in drawing our attention to such issues, but the quantities involved are a 'drop in the ocean' when compared, for example, to the vast amount wasted by domestic consumers each year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Agree on the consumer waste - if every person were to leave the tap running while they are cleaning their teeth (which lots of people seem to do), they would waste approximately 1 litre of water.
Assuming they clean their teeth twice a day, thats nearly 100 million lites of water each day in UK alone! Give or take a bit for babies and OAPs with dentures...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
