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Sunday 28 September 2014

Really strange phenomena from the 'long' Regency.

I've been researching weather for a while, with a view to presenting a month-by-month description covering the 'long' Regency and whilst poking around in the Newspaper Archive, I've come across one or two very odd things.


Saturday 24th august 1811 Norfolk Chronicle.



Monday 28th November 1803 Salisbury and Winchester journal.
Add to this the Lunar rainbow visible at Edinborough on the 20th October 1801, the odd case of ball lightning as on 30th January 1801 at Hoxton,  several hurricanes, and people frequently killed by lightning, and it appears that the early 19th century had some very exciting weather indeed.
I'm guessing that the event at Bromswell camp may well have been some kind of ball lightning; but has anybody got any idea what happened at Grantham? 

Update, 8th October 2014, I have been thinking about the apparently greater incidence of lightning strikes and ball lightning in the Regency period, and as I have been informed such things routinely happen in those parts of Eastern Europe that are far from technology, I can only postulate that the lines of pylons we take for granted, each with their own lightning conductor, and the tall buildings we are become used to, also with lightning conductors, attract the static electricity that may be responsible for the spontaneous formation of ball lightning, and too attract the lightning itself so it does not harm people.  Morover, the modern car is a Faraday cage, protecting its inmates from lightning, whereas the wooden carriage with metal only in its springs, was a danger to its occupants in being often the highest thing around. 
I still have no idea what happened at Grantham.

Friday 5 September 2014

I've been guest blogging again...

... This one on Kathryn Kane's new 'Romance' blog, so if anyone would like to read my blog on 'the elements of romance' please find it HERE.  This is an addition to Kat's excellent 'Regency Redingote' blog HERE which is most certainly well worth browsing.  Get your cuppa first though, you'll be lost in it for hours of enjoyment.