A lesson in meteorological linguistics
A big part of my graphic recording practise involves a lot of podcast- and webinar-mapping, as I hone the skills of active listening, then trying and get my brain to conjure up ideas about how to convey what’s been discussed in a visual manner, before rendering those images onto paper. I am learning to just go with whatever pops into my head, and the drawing appears in real time as I think of it. As I want to consolidate my longtime interest in nature and sustainability with this new endeavour, I am focussing on anything in the climate/agro-ecological/rewilding space as potential fodder for making maps.
I was hoping to have a go at real live graphic recording, as I’d asked to attend a panel discussion as part of London Climate Action Week, but the Red Weather Warning issued by the Met Office made me rethink due to potential travel disruption, and also the sheer horror at the thought of being outside in the middle of the day in centre of a city while the mercury rises to 40 degrees C; rest assured – the irony is not lost on me.
I subscribe to the Met Office’s YouTube channel as I enjoy their “deep dive” content which explains what’s happening and why with the weather, and I saw one about the narrative surrounding sunshine, and how the presenters tend to favour forecasting in terms of sunshine: good; rain: bad. As readers of my blog will know, I love the rain and cloudy skies, and while that doesn’t mean I wish it was 365 days of grey, wet weather each year, I do find it puzzling to be regarded as some sort of social pariah for preferring puddles to barbecues.
Alex Deakin was interviewing Alice Stevens of Weather-kin, and talking about this sunshine-centric positivity which is drilled into the British psyche, and how we basically need to learn to embrace rainy conditions rather than see it as an excuse to take the car, or stay indoors. Alice pointed out, however, that there is a socio-economic divide, in that decent waterproof clothing and footwear can be expensive, and drying wet or muddy gear in a small space with limited access to laundry facilities makes the romanticism of puddle-jumping and cagoules somewhat aspirational. This disassociation from both the elements and nature is particularly detrimental to youngsters, but bizarrely, if it’s snowing, we can’t get out there fast enough…scooping up the tiniest dusting to create enough of a snowball to throw at a sibling. Mr Deakin conceded that the general tone from his organisation was to be pro-sunshine, describing showers or cloud as somehow “spoiling” the weather during broadcasts. Ms Stevens suggested some alternative descriptions such as focussing on the fresh smell that land has following rain (petrichor); helping hay fever sufferers; washing the dust from the plants and buildings; filling our rivers, ponds and lakes.
There were also some amazing projects that Weather-kin had created to help people embrace rainy conditions which I found really ingenious and inspiring.
If you want to watch the video, the link is here.
Meanwhile, my drawing went well and I really enjoyed both listening and constructing the map.
