Saturday notes

Yesterday, the Met Office said:
Forecast for Saturday for the Islands: Bright with sunny intervals, but a chance of an occasional shower.

What do I see out of my window? Pouring rain. Since about 8 am. Eugh.

Oh well. Chantal is certainly warm-blooded, so much is clear. Cranked us up to 16C yesterday. Chantal is the name of the former tropical storm that is bringing us all this weather. Hope she goes soon.

I hope the foot-and-mouth outbreak will be an isolated case. However, it was said by the Chief Veterinary Officer last night that this farm took cattle in the last stage of fattening before they went for slaughter. The inference being that livestock would be transported there from other places. This is no longer allowed, but I hope they check the source farms. This action was being urged upon all farmers, to check their stock for signs of vesicular disease, what the formal name for foot and mouth is. Sore mouths, drooling, and lameness or painful feet. If you're in the UK, and you have ruminant animals of your own: please check.

Typhoon Usagi has now turned into an non-tropical system, but did leave several people injured after they were blown over in 110 mph winds on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Several were blown off roofs, and one elderly lady was literally blown off her feet. Usagi (Rabbit in Japanese) is the second major storm to hit Japan within a month. Man-yi, back in July, left 3 dead.