Head in the Clouds

I've not been feeling well today. No energy and very sleepy.

Although I spend most of the day in bed, I had seen a post on facebook about severe weather photography by John Mason. . It was hosted by the Royal Meteorological Society at Manchester Met so I was sure I would cope with the journey. Of course, I had just enough time for a quick coffee at NTP.

Everyone seemed really happy in the cafe. We all talked about how the South American coffee was quite ordinary just now and couldn't wait for the natural processed stuff later in the year. Jules was in with her Scandinavian friends, a few wearing similar jumpers to my Norwegian one that everyone takes the piss out of! They had the advantage of being a) girls and b) Scandinavian...... so there was little risk of them being picked on. I didn't have my jumper on either!

Before I left, all the staff mortally offended me when they all agreed that my La Pavoni looked like a potato masher! I left asking them to try and make my coffee less bitter the next time so that as many customers as possible could hear! They laughed! Gahhhh....bastards!

There was coffee and biscuits again before the talk on the weather. I was shy as I looked like the only non-meteorologist there and the least like a 1980's Open University professor. The presenter fitted the stereotype of a meteorology photographer who loved living in rural Wales. He was very nervous too but soon got into his flow. I liked him!

Some of his images were stunning and I particularly liked how he also showed the weather satellite images with isobars superimposed. He would use online charts and forums to predict interesting weather conditions that merited being photographed. The audience were particularly interested in noctilucent clouds as :
a) they didn't really understand what caused them and
b) that they were difficult to forecast
The q&a at the end was just like the clouds....way over my head but interesting all the same. Not so much so that I fancied taking up the open invitation to go for a pint though.

The blip is the closest interesting photo I could get with clouds in it!