A Barbecue Summer and a Mild Winter

Any Beaker Folk heading off to work in the next couple of hours, as they scrape off ice and then slide their way to work, please consider the following:

• Be glad it's such a mild winter, as the Met Office predicted.
• Perhaps if you get snowed in somewhere, you could consider having a barbecue?  I'm sure the Met Office would approve.
• Consider that the mild winter was said by the Met Office to be an evens chance.  The Barbecue Summer, 80% likely.  So they've managed to hit the 1 in 10 chance of being wrong on both.  Impressive by any standards.
• Don't trust anyone from the Met Office to tell you the time, even if you're in a clock-shop.
• Likewise if they offer to organise you a party, even if you're in a brewery.
• Consider that the future funding of the Met Office depends upon them trying to persuade Government that more meteorologists are a good idea.  Consider that tax accountants never say we need less regulation, computer project managers never think less computer systems are wrong.  And scientists need grants.  And if their long-term forecast is "about normal.  Bit snowy, bit mild, bit cold, some rain" then no-one's gonna give them grants.  What we need are exciting forecasts, for meteorologists to be environmental catastrophe merchants.

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On the subject of science, I'm now less happy.  Yes, colliding an apple moving at near-light-speed with a Higgs Boson was very dramatic last night.  But we forgot to keep an eye on the Black Hole we produced.  During the night St Bogwulf's chapel disappeared into the void.  My Granddad would have approved.  While we continue to work on the new fireproof Moot House (construction work cancelled due to snow and ice for its 4th crazy week!) I guess we're back in the Dining Room.