Product Description

It's the great British obsession and not surprisingly: no other country in the world has such unpredictable weather, with such power to rule people's lives as we have. The Wrong Kind of Snow is the complete daily companion to this British phenomenon. From the Spanish Armada to the invention of the windscreen wiper, each of the 365 entries beautifully illustrates a day in the weird and wonderful history of the British and their weather.

31 January: The Big Freeze of 1963 brings the FA Cup competition to a halt: every football pitch in Britain is frozen: the third round takes 66 days to complete: the Pools Panel is formed as a result. 9 February: British Rail blames the Wrong Kind of Snow - it was a journalist's phrase, but on this day in 1991 it stuck to the beleaguered BR like flesh to ice. 15 July: The exceptionally hot and steamy summer of 1858 caused the Great Stink of London, resulting in the building of London s sewage system, still in use today. On the same day in 1930, rainfall in Yorkshire is so heavy that the Whitby lifeboat makes a rescue two miles inland. 10 September: A violent storm rather than British sea power defeats the Spanish Armada in1588. Four centuries later, bad light and rain stop play at the Oval . . . And much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62721 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-18
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
* * * * * [FIVE STARS] 'Smart and well-researched' --Time Out

'Well-written and funny . . . a book you can give to almost anyone in the entire country' --Alexandra Heminsley, Elle Magazine books editor

'Wonderful diary format . . . full of fascination and amusement' --Alan Titchmarsh, The Alan Titchmarsh Show

Synopsis
It's the great British obsession and not surprisingly: no other country in the world has such unpredictable weather, with such power to rule people's lives as we have. The Wrong Kind of Snow" is the complete daily companion to this British phenomenon. From the Spanish Armada to the invention of the windscreen wiper, each of the 365 entries beautifully illustrates a day in the weird and wonderful history of the British and their weather. 31 January: The 'Big Freeze' of 1963brings the FA Cup competition to a halt: every football pitch in Britain is frozen: the third round takes 66 days to complete: the Pools Panel is formed as a result. 9 February: 'British Rail blames the Wrong Kind of Snow' --it was ajournalist's phrase, but on this day in 1991 itstuck to the beleaguered BR like flesh to ice. 15 July: The exceptionally hot and steamy summer of 1858 caused the Great Stink of London,resulting in the building of London's sewage system, still in use today. On the same day in 1930, rainfall in Yorkshire is so heavy that the Whitby lifeboat makes a rescue two miles inland.10 September: A violent storm -- rather than British sea power -- defeats the Spanish Armada in1588.Four centuries later, bad light and rain stop play at the Oval .

..And much more.

About the Author
Rob Penn and Antony Woodward are journalists and have spent many hours trying to predict the weather, Antony as a pilot and Rob on a round the world bicycle ride.

Customer Reviews

Right kind of book
I have to confess that I have only got to 11 June (today) - I bought this a few months ago and read it to get up to date and now I just take a page at a time generally on the exact day (normally in the inner sanctum).

It is simply excellent and I can't recommend it highly enough. There must have been a considerable amount of research to find something in history that was related to the weather on 365 different days but so far apart from 18th March (the dullest day of the year with regard to weather related history) the authors have managed to find something of interest for each day.

Not only has it been a good read I have found it very educational from a history perspective, I really have enjoyed it immensely.

Just brilliant.

Save it up!
Buy this book! For yourself, a friend, your mum or dad, hell, buy it for anyone. It is a joy and for some reason I find the stories very moving, particularly Henry Bloggs in January. I'm saving it up and reading it week by week to spread the joy over the whole year!

One for the Xmas Stocking
A truly epic tome that is a must for all us weather obssessed folk. I originally purchased this book because the pile of miscellanies & anecdotal publications in the downstairs WC were getting a little thin on the ground (I suspect some of my more light-fingered house guests may be to blame...) However once I began to dip into it's cleverly crafted contents I found this book began to follow me around all over the house, the office and even further afield. Whether you are brushing up on a few interesting facts to impress your next dinner companion, or want to know what the weather got up to on your birthday in 1885, it really is too good to be confined to the small dark room under the stairs. May I suggest you purchase several copies to be left out in all the rooms in your house, and a few extra to cater for those house guest types I mentioned earlier....