Rain

It continues. It rained on National Day - December 2nd - and it's still raining. Apparently this is the most rain in a month for eleven years, and it's still only the 14th. Habibi was saying that it may be part of the eleven year El Nino cycle. I remember the flooded roads in February 1995 - during the first shopping festival. We'd been here six months and were a bit surprised.

It's just after 6 a.m. and the soft pitter patter of raindrops is very soothing, except that our balcony is beginning to fill up, and there's a bloom of moisture on the bedroom ceiling, with a couple of water blisters in the paintwork. And this building is quite sound.

No spectacular storms, none of the sheet lightning that can turn the sky lilac and pale lemon. Just relentless rain. We were amused by warning signs advising care because of 'water ponds' - I don't suppose puddle is a common word in Arabic - but the term is apt now. The drive into work should be interesting.