We used to boast in Hutton that we enjoyed amongst the driest weather in the UK-a distinction shared with sunny Dunbar and east coast Lincolnshire. Smugly we would watch the rain hiss down in Chirnside 4 miles to the north west and avoid the puddles in Paxton by taking the bypass en route to Berwick. Migrant geese, infected with all kinds of lurgis would overfly arid Hutton to descend on the flooded fields of Fishwick and Paxton. But I wonder if since Mr Fish departed with a gong and his humidity linked pension that things have changed. Recently forecasts (like today) promising isolated showers seem to concentrate the wet on us and no longer on our neighbours. So we are now getting Dreich and rain together and are now a desirable infection stop over for avian flu transmitters.

And another thing. Our bench mark Weather station used to be Berwick and ITV Borders Teletext p.152 gave our weather prenostications together with Dumfries in the West and Selkirk in the middle. Suddenly (yes it was about the time that Mr M Fish retired) Berwick has dropped off the list-appearing occasionally like on New Years Day, but not more than two or three times a year. And who ever now programmes the Teletext Forecast must have played games of imagination and terror involving Injuns and Cowboys in his youth as his forecasts are full of references to that romantic and stirring 'Red Skin' chief: Broken Cloud and his effete cousin Patchy Mist. My e-mails suggesting the return of Berwick to the Borders, meteorologically
speaking have been met with a conspiracy of silence.

Hutton Think Tank, Weather and Seasonal Affairs section, are working up a scheme for our own weather station but so far the right kind of seaweed has proved elusive. We will struggle on.  ¶ 9:31 AM