RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING

I love lying in bed listening to the rain. I think that pleasure started during winter holidays in the Porongorups where, after a night of playing rummy by the light of the kerosene lamp, we'd retire to cosy beds in our flannelette pjamas and go to sleep to the pitter patter of water on the tin roof.

For years, I didn't get to enjoy that type of experience because I was downstairs in the Pink House with a whole storey between me and the rain. Now, with a colourbond roof above me, I can enjoy the sound again. [On a side note, I do love the colourbond ad.]And there's been lots of opportunities in Perth. I keep asking people whether the amount of days of rain are common and nobody's quite sure although Google keeps reassuring me that we're receiving average rainfalls. 

My first Melbourne rain experience was on a trip down from Sydney. It was my first experience of Melbourne's "four seasons in one day". It was summer and as it was just a day trip for work I arrived with no luggage. I might have even packed sunglasses but the idea of taking a raincoat or an umbrella didn't cross my mind. At some point in the morning, I walked to a cafe for a meeting and (as they say) the sky opened up. Within minutes I was utterly drenched - and I had to stay damp and soggy for the rest of the day. No time for shopping for dry clothes. In Sydney a year later, after I'd moved to live in Melbourne, I had the same experience. No expectation of rain and when I stepped off the plane, the drizzle started. This time, I did have the chance to nip into town and find a (semi) raincoat which I still wear 20 years later. 

These days, I'm unlikely to get caught again because I have the wonderful app Rain Parrot.  Recommended by a friend, for the grand sum of $4.99 pa (for the premium version) a chirpy parrot sound gives you warning of the rain to come.

Southbank Theatre - 6 March 2010

The worst rain experience I've had was a combination rain and hale storm that hit Melbourne in March 2010. The storm was so fierce, I had to pull aside on the Tullamrine Freeway because I couldn't see ahead of me. As I was sitting waiting for the storm to pass, I received a phone call from the manager at the Southbank Theatre. The place was flooded with water from the road and drowning from water coming in through the roof.  Once I could see to drive, I headed to Southbank where there were piles of hail stones and flooded roads. Luckily, the staff had got the matinee goers safely out of the building. 

My beautiful new theatre. Less than one year old. Jarrah floorboards destroyed. Plaster walls falling apart. Ceilings bowing down under the weight of the water. 

Our HQ was further down the street so I had the oddest summer experience of plowing through ice cold thigh deep water, never quite knowing whether I was walking on a footpath or the road, to see if that building was alright. Compared to the theatre, the flooding was minor but it was eerie being in an empty building, pushing through water, hoping that the electricity was off. 

So far, the rain in Perth hasn't provided such challenges and I'll just continue to enjoy the rain, knowing that it's filling dams and greening gardens.