I was in town yesterday with Stevie, buying prizes for the young people for our CrossLinks end of term party and award night tonight. I was on my way back to the car. The sky had been blue and the weather sticky until about 20 minutes before, but the clouds had thickened and darkened. The first few drops of rain were fat and squelchy. Like a monsoon downpour the rain was immediate and heavy. People were squealing, caught out in t-shirts. Others ran and stood under shelters; doorways, office lobbies, window ledges. A lady with a gigantic coloured golfing umbrella walked on with enough dryness for about 4 people, though even her legs were wet. I stopped under a big canopy alongside a lady with dark hair, a man in a suit and a guy in blue as the deluge became hail. It was quite wonderful watching the lightning and listening to the thunder as the hail pelted down. The scene looked like a snowstorm on speed. The pavements were piled white and the drains were swamped. By the time I got back to my car the rain had stopped. Ten minutes away they had seen no lightning at all. I was lucky…and wet.