Ants and storms..

Sorry I haven't written here for a while, I have been pretty busy with one thing or another..

I couldn't quite let yesterday pass without comment though. It seems to me that the weather is getting very strange. Yesterday we decided to go over to Croydon to choose me my free phone upgrade from the O2 shop, and no sooner had we stepped out of East Croydon station, we were in the midst of a plague of what looked like flying ants, but a bit larger. They were everywhere! People were power walking down the street, waving their arms, and squinting in a vain attempt to keep these beasties out of their eyes and clothes.. people running into shops for cover.. I've actually never seen so many of the things, or so large. We darted into a shop as soon as we could, and already we were covered in the things, and had to brush them off our clothes.

This swarm literally filled the whole of George Street which runs from the station down into the town centre, and North End, the main shopping street. I'm not sure if it stretched any further, as we didn't venture that far, strangely.

Anyway, we finally made it to the O2 shop, and just as I had selected the phone I wanted.. the flash downpour started. Bear in mind that we had just left home wearing summer tshirts and sunglasses. It was a warm Summer's day. And then ~crack~, thunder right above us, and a simultaneous flash of lightening.. and again, sounding like it hit something just down the high street this time. Then the heavy rain came.. and the high street was suddenly deserted, save for the groups of people huddled at the shop entrances, looking out in dismay. Within about a minute the whole street was awash, and then, about as quickly, the storm was gone and the blue sky returned.. along with two fire engines. It seems that the lightening did in fact hit something down the high street, somewhere in between the Whitgift Centre and Centrale, but we couldn't make out what.

What I find wierd about these storms that we keep getting, is that the seem to come with no warning. It's just like.. wham! You're in the middle of a thunder storm, in the space of time it takes to walk from one shop to another. I don't know how they move in so quickly. I'd be interested to see a satellite image of one of these things..

As we walked back to the station, I wondered where all of the flying ants had gone.. and then I looked to the ground, and I saw. What a stupid time to take your nuptial swarming flight. They won't be doing that again!