Raindrops keep fallin’ on our heids ...it’s Scotland’s dreich encounters
vibrant. On one of my first days at school I was clouted by the teacher for what she termed using “gutter talk”. I had arrived in class complaining of being fair drookit. Those were the days, eh?
Writing this book has brought back many memories of being cheerfully sodden.
Why do Scots seem to coin so many different expressions for things?
We are a most inventive nation. After all, didn’t we invent the Loch Ness Monster?
What were some of the most common?
Stot is a delightful word that describes how rain picks up speed on its descent, and can bounce off streets, pavements and people’s heads. In contrast, haggar is the perfect word to describe the sort of rain that drifts slowly down.
What were some of the more bizarre?
So frequent is the rain in Orkney and Shetland that they even have a special word, “aflak”, to denote any short pause in a storm. The Scots word “blashy” wonderfully describes rain at its wettest and most blown-about.
Is rain your favourite weather? It depends on my mood. Sometimes it can be truly refreshing and at others it comes as a real downer, in every sense of the word. The singer Roger Miller put it well: “Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
How long does it take rain to fall from the sky?
Given that the size of raindrops and the height from which they fall can both vary widely, it is impossible to give a precise figure. An average-sized raindrop, falling at an average speed of around 14mph from a cloud some 2,500 feet above us, would reach the ground in roughly two minutes.
What is phantom rain?
This occurs when rain evaporates before it reaches the ground. It is a feature of desert conditions.
Does rain have a smell?
Yes. The refreshing, clean smell comes from rain having passed through ozone in the atmosphere. The pleasant, slightly earthy, “after-rain” smell is termed “petrichor”, from the Greek petra (stone) and ichor (the fluid that flows in the veins of the Greek gods).
Is it best to run or walk in rain?
Professor Bocci’s paper in the European Physical Journal suggests that “the best thing is to run as fast as you can – not always, but in general.” So now you know!
The Little Book Of Scottish Rain, by Ron Butlin, illustrated by Tim Kirby, Birlinn, £4.99