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5. Punishing Weather

Episode 5 of 10

Do we deserve the weather we get? Alexandra Harris tells the story of how the weather has ingrained itself into our culture.

Alexandra Harris tells the story of how the weather has ingrained itself into our culture.

Punishing weather: do we deserve the weather we get?

Weather and time have often been twinned. They are linked by one word in Latin, tempus. β€œQuel temps fait-il?”, ask the French. Proust's time regained is also the weather of memory revisited.

In English the connection is less clear because our word for weather is from Norse 'weder', but still there is a long and potent tradition of thought that links the passing of time with the mobile, changeful, ever-passing weather. In this tradition time and weather began together when Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden into an imperfect and impermanent world.

Music by Jon Nicholls.

Producer: Tim Dee

First broadcast on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 in 2016.

Available now

14 minutes

Last on

Fri 31 May 2024 09:30
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra

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4. Britain and the Sun

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6. Holiday on Ice

See all episodes from A British History in Weather

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Broadcasts

  • Fri 13 May 2016 13:45
    ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
  • Sun 11 Oct 2020 00:15
    ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
  • Fri 31 May 2024 09:30
    ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra

Weather animations

Watch a series of charming films about our historical relationship with the weather.