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Anyhow, I had three teachers in particular (Maths, Science and Geography) who seemed to encompass all that made a great teacher. The best one of all was our South African born Geography master. He was both a tough disciplinarian but also an extremely sympathetic man with a very dry sense of humour. Moreover he had that certain knack of holding you spellbound throughout the lesson. I used to sit there in awe as he drew diagrams showing the Earth’s position to the Sun at the Equinoxes and Solstices and how that would explain our seasons. He would take us on Field Trips explaining the effects that local Geology had on our landscape. I never looked at the countryside in the same way again. He taught us how and why local natural resources fired the engines of a country’s economy. To top it all he was an avid fellow West Ham supporter. My admiration was complete.
I left school with an intense fascination about the weather that has stayed with me to this day. I suppose I have become a bit of an anorak keeping daily records going back years. But I was wondering whether I would have the same fascination with the weather if I lived elsewhere on the planet. My brother lives in Darwin. The weather there seems to be sunny and 33 deg every day for months on end. Living here in the UK, we experience great variety in the weather, with the proverbial four seasons in one day. The glorious unpredictability of it challenges the most expert of meteorologists. But, sometimes, just sometimes, after a summer like the one we are having, I think maybe I could throw the log book away and settle for just a snatch of what Darwin gets.