The rain it raineth every day

The old Penzance Borough Council commissioned a painting of their promenade many years ago in the hope of boosting their tourist trade and what they got was one entitled 'The rain it raineth every day'. It seemed to me a fair representation of the weather in Penzance, but it was hidden from public view for many years.

Picture from Scilly Now and Then

My friends at Radio Scilly and Scilly Now and Then have been keeping me updated on conditions on the islands. The main settlement of Hugh Town is on an isthmus between two bays and some streets now look like beaches as they are covered with sand. There are real fears about high tides and strong winds forecast for the weekend, winds of 92 mph having been recorded earlier in the week. The Radio Scilly studio is across the road from the beach at Porthmellon, but is on an upper floor, so hopefully the Saturday sports show will go ahead on schedule and I will be able to deliver my slot as mainland football correspondent. Meanwhile, station manager Keri Jones has been sunning himself in New Zealand, leaving the lovely Suze to hold the fort.

Which brings me to Charlton. The dome has been on the pitch and there is to be a pitch inspection later today. However, heavy rain and strong winds are forecast for tomorrow, so heavy rain after the covers are removed could mean a late postponement (again). This is not a good situation for those of us who come some distance as we are unavoidably en route when these decisions are taken. My Plan B had been to at least get my Voice of the Valley but Rick Everitt has tweeted that adverse weather may drive his elves from the streets as the colour could run in their uniforms. However, he has now stated that should there be a late postponement there will be a seller across the road from the club shop from 1.30 until kick off time. /p>

The latest news is more positive. It now appears that the only major chance of the game being off is if it seriously pours down after the Dome [on thepitch, not levitation of the 02] is lifted tomorrow -and whether the pitch could take a serious downpour. The Met Office is predicting "squally heavy showers with perhaps hail or thunder" from 0600-1200 tomorrow and starting again from 1300-1400- so with luck, it should be the downpour between 1-2pm that we need to watch out for.

So, if the worst comes to the worst, it looks like going down the pub to see if I can find Blackheath Addickted to learn why this Europhile is so worried about Roland.

Needless to say the prospect of the game being called off has given the more miserable Charlton fans something else to wallow in. I been having negotiations with Beijing this week about a prospective visit and I must say they are easier to deal with than the average Charlton fan.

If we do keep postponing games, not only do we look foolish (although this time I suspect that there may be some other waterlogged pitches tomorow), but we will be facing match congestion when we are trying to fight our way out of the relegation zone.

Some might think that a postponement would be a blessing in disguise as it might mean that Hamer would recover to replace suspect keeper Thuram-Ulien. Chris Powell made it clear yesterday that Ben Alnwick departed because he wanted assurances about the end of season that could not be given, so his agent had a look round and found that he could pop through the Blackwall Tunnel to add another club to add to those he has played at. The manager made it clear that he is not using the French keeper because he has been told to, but out of necessity.