STORM; Paris, June 2014

After a 35 degrees hot and humid day I noticed flashing lights in the evening sky.  We all rushed up to the loft and gasped over the spectacular light show.  It was as if the sky gods were in a battle, shooting lightning at one another without once touching the ground.  Every dot-to-dot possibility was explored, in hues of pink peach and purple, and sometimes the sky lit up like day.

Sky gods shooting lightening at one another

B and I went out into the street to try for some overhead shots.

The lightning continued to flash, but it was calm, and it seemed as though the storm would pass us by.  B had packed up his tripod, and I was lingering awhile in the quiet night when I heard a noise, rather like a stone hitting some metal scaffolding, then a thud, then a blow to the van next to me.

I looked round for someone throwing stones, but there was no-one, just an ever increasing collection of thuds and whacks.  There was almost no wind, so I reasoned it couldn't be flying debris in the path of the storm.  I felt at any moment I would be hit by an unidentified flying object, so I made my way inside, and on the doorstep I saw a large white rock of ice, and  I realised we were about to be pelted by giant hailstones.

I shouted at everyone to shut the windows and shutters and get the cats in.  Then suddenly the sky became a squealing mass of furious fiends hurling rocks at our roof, windows and doors, a pounding bombardment with occasional foundation-rocking direct hits, surround sound so loud we could not hear ourselves shouting.

The cats called this Unnatural and went howling mad.

THE WILDEST AND MOST THRILLING STORM EVER EXPERIENCED, even by those of us approaching 50.