I have lived in London for 19 months now and the weather can be described with the following words: Cold, gray and rainy. There are variations. Sometimes it is only gray and cold. But, for the most part, you can almost always count on the rain factoring into your plans in some way or other.

When my friends from the states come to visit me, they think I am completely strange when I carry an umbrella on a clear day. (Those are rare, the clear days and the visits from my friends). Without fail, if I forget some kind of rain gear, I can almost guarantee I will get wet. (My co-workers can attest to the fact I am grumpy when I get wet.) Now, the weather in London isn’t always horrible. We do have a few days of partial sun and temperatures where you can walk around without a coat. But they are rare - just like the clear days and the visits from friends – but I digress.

So, when I was asked to go out with Jenny Harrison and shoot the links to the Weather F/X show I was very excited. It was my chance to get out of the office, get away from the grind, get some fresh air and do something different. I did do something different – in the rain. We hoped, we prayed, we did an anti-rain dance. The forecast looked fine for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. But Wednesday – my big day – it forecast rain and they were right. When I left my apartment, the clouds covered the sky and the wind was blowing. I did find some solace that I was shooting links for a WEATHER show, so having an umbrella in a shot would not be the end of the world.

Jenny, my cameraman, our driver and I headed off to the Thames Barrier Park. We didn’t let the gray clouds or impending rain dampen our spirits (so to speak!) But when we opened the car door we hit with a blast of blustery air. This was not going to be easy. When you are on shoots, you have to take into account if the rain is hitting the lens of the camera or if the wind is whistling through the microphone. (You also have to explain to the managers why the camera isn’t working after water seeped into it and that can be really bad, not to mention expensive). So, we had our work cut out for us. The park was a great location. It is 22 acres of lawns, trees and hedges that many call an “urban oasis.”

The park has an interesting history. During the 19th century and into the 20th, the park was formally known as Prince Regents Wharf. The construction of the nearby Royal Docks to the north stimulated the development of numerous Thames wharfs and industries. For more than a hundred years, the site grew contaminated by the various chemicals used by businesses. In 1994, the area was cleared and capped in preparation for its transformation into one of London’s green spaces. In 1995, the London Docklands Development Corporation launched a competition to create a riverside park. In 1998, the first tree was planted there and the park officially opened in November 2000.

Owned by the London Development Agency, the Thames Barrier was built to prevent the possibility of catastrophic flooding in London. The city received a nasty wakeup call in 1953. According to FloodLondon.com, the worst storm surge of the last century hit the East Coast on January 31st/February 1st of that year. It breached flood defenses, knocked out tide gauges between the Wash and Southend and devastated Canvey Island in the Thames Estuary. On Canvey alone, 58 people died and 10,000 had to be evacuated. The flooding extended into the Docklands but Central London was spared. This prompted the government to set up a committee to study the flooding threat to the capital. Long story short (too late!) after a great deal of study, the Barrier was officially opened in 1984. (They took a long time to really study it). It cost £440 million to complete.

Back to shoot, overall, despite the wind, the rain and cold temperatures – everything worked out well. We managed to get everything accomplished and have some fun in the process. You can check our final product on this month’s Weather F/X. I hope you like it!


From CNNI Producer Mary Davies