Roof damage above the Downs centre kitchen wasn’t a storm in a teacup.
But it takes more than storm damage and a leak to dampen the spirits of the cheery catering team at the Chilterns Gateway Centre.
I wrote in the Gazette last week about how unrelenting violent storms had taken a toll on the roof above the kitchen at the Dunstable Downs visitor centre.
A leak damaged some cooking equipment but the determined team set up a temporary catering area, all set for half-term visitors.
This week, I thought I’d share the fun picture on this page with you.
Staff at the centre are pictured jokily posing with brollies along with some of the tasty treats that were still available as they weathered the storms.
Their beaming smiles were proof of the team’s message to the public: “We’ll keep going whatever the weather!”
I’m sure compliments have been raining down on them...
February’s wild weather hasn’t been the end of the world, although it has felt like it at times.
But if it had been, we would have been sitting pretty in Bedfordshire.
A friend drew my attention to an article in The Guardian about people readying themselves for the end of the modern world.
They’re nicknamed ‘preppers’ and fear climate change means that we are all getting close to The Noah Scenario.
Oo-er. But fear not. The article claimed that Suffolk is Britain’s driest county.
But then it went on to assure us: “Next driest is Bedfordshire, although it is also quite an expensive place to buy a house, while society still functions, so Nottinghamshire or Northamptonshire might be better if you’re surviving on a budget.
“Be sure to have plenty of water butts in any of these places.”
Hmm. Come the climate apocalypse, the world and his wife are going straight to Beds!
Here’s a flip comment. Did you know it’s Pancake Day next Tuesday, March 4?
Houghton Regis Town Council is organising a free pancake race on the big day.
Hooray! You can find out all about how to sign up as a team on page 9 of today’s Gazette.
Time was, there were pancake races here, there and everywhere on Shrove Tuesday.
News of the Houghton race confirms the tradition hasn’t fallen flat. Groan.
The weather may be wild and windy, but with Pancake Day to look forward to, there are ‘batter times’ ahead...
If you’d like to turn your pancakes into a taste sensation, try a dollop of Dunstable honey on top.
Where can you pick it up? I’ve regularly seen Dunstable honey on the shelves at the Priory House tourist information and heritage centre, in High Street South, Dunstable.
You can choose from runny and set Dunstable honey.
And very yummy honey it is, too. In fact, it’s the bee’s knees!
Now for a little more ‘local colour’. It was well worth the rain last week to see an amazing rainbow, a full glowing semi-circle, in the Langdale Road area of Dunstable.
Efforts to catch it on camera in all its glory failed dismally. But it won’t put me off trying the next time I see one.
I’m always chasing rainbows...