I was having lunch with Lady G the other day, sitting under shelter in a pub garden and watching the storm clouds gather. An older gentleman at the next table said “Oh I think that’ll miss us and pass by” – which of course meant that no less than three minutes later the heavens opened and we watched a young family sprinting to cover back inside, clutching their lunches and trying not to drown their drinks.

As we were in a sturdy wooden shelter, the three of us watched this without comment until a loud thunder and lightning crack detonated directly overhead. As we had just been talking about the book Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, I couldn’t resist looking up at the skies and saying “missed us!” Several more lightning strikes and rolls of thunder followed as the storm surged past.

We may have teased the gentleman about how the storm had indeed passed by…