Storm Kathleen

If you were not standing under a tree or attempting to go camping, Kathleen was a very picturesque storm. Bright sunshine for much of the time, and a warm southerly blast. It is difficult to get the atmosphere from a still picture but I can tell you that the shrouds were all shrieking as they split the wind, and even tied down to their trolleys, the dinghies were pitching from side to side. 
Strangely, really big breakers did not develop but rather a staccato choppiness of pyramidal peaks. This may have been because at this North end of Bassenthwaite the wind surged in over the fells and hit the water either flat on or at an shallow angle. This gusting skinned the surface off the water in swathes of fine spray along each leading edge, taking on  shapes at times, like  lines ghostly figures or ephemeral horses striding or galloping to the far shore. An invigorating spectator sport that was enhanced by coffee and chocolate cake 
For my colleagues at Whinlatter above the experience was somewhat different as at about 2.00pm trees started to blow over. The Forest was promptly closed and everyone scarpered home. Not to be opened again until Monday, when Kathleen is supposed to have blown herself out.

The chocolate cake I made the night before was a little bit of magic in itself. It was the self-saucing variety where you make a cake mixture and put it in a deep baking dish. Then you pour boiling water mixed with cocoa powder all over it, so it resembles a muddy water-filled pot-hole. Quite inedible. But then, the oven does a conjuring trick. In the heat of the next half hour the top and bottom layer of the puddle reverse themselves. The cake floats its way to the top of the dish and the liquid sinks to the bottom. Abracadabra! Spoonfuls of chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce, hot or cold, with cream or not.