Callum made it a windy day out for Windsor wedding
The crowds may have been a bit sparse on the streets of Windsor yesterday but my word the flags were fluttering.
The Royal Standard atop Windsor Castle was stretched out to its seams while the bunting went like whirligigs. Storm Callum – the one name left off the 850-strong guest list which included any number of oddlycoupled celebrities – was making its presence felt.
Guests walked into St George’s Chapel with one hand clasped firmly on their fascinators, and one poor fellow lost his top hat altogether.
Weather watch wasn’t privy to the bridal bouquet being tossed, but one presumes it ended up somewhere near Maidenhead.
Still, it wasn’t all that bad for the House of Windsor. Last night guests were treated to what was anticipated to be near record-breaking warmth for England and Wales.
At 5am today temperatures of 18C are being forecast for the South East and as far north as Hull. The high temperatures in the north of the country, however, are expected to be accompanied by torrential downpours as the day progresses.
Of course, an October wedding is always a bit of a punt, but what curious conditions this autumn continues to throw up. Last Sunday my home city of Sheffield arose to a hard frost but by Wednesday the hottest October day for seven years was recorded. That was at RAF Valley airfield on Anglesey, where it reached 23.9C, making it the warmest day since Gravesend notched up 29.9C on Oct 1 2011.
Meanwhile, Callum is already the third named storm to blow in from the Atlantic this autumn. Last year Storm Caroline didn’t arrive until Dec 5.
Over the coming days the wild weather looks set to continue with more gales and gusts set to arrive from the west. One hopes the bride and groom have not chosen to honeymoon in Weston-super-mare.
Joe Shute