The relis always bitterly complain about inclement weather in the Borders-and by this they generally mean the low temperatures
within the Old Manse whatever the season. They all pointedly wear layers of fleeces, grumble around he house to warm themselves up.And thats in July. One, a former GP, warns of the dangers of Seventh Age persons living in low ambient temperatures-apparently under 60F you curl up and hand in your clogs in no time flat. But they are under extreme interrogation, Abu Gharaib style, forced to admit that the rain fall we endure is considerably less than elsewhere in these islands. Only Dunbar, just outside the Borders, gets less precipitation than Hutton, especially now that Fish OBE has handed in his rain guage and map changing remote control.
And rarely in Hutton do you have the intensity of rain that is inflicted on Killin. Last night it hissed down, the post cats and dogs stage, swelling the river at the bottom of the field and turning the Falls of Dochart into a credible challenger to Victoria. Getting the Grudian was a real white water adventure this morning with the wife's umbrella buckling under the downpour and leaking like the proverbial-it gets no practice in Berwickshire.
I plan to invest in decent rain wear from the Mountain Shop in the village but can't get there in present conditions. But at least when I do I'll stay dry
on the way back.
