The soggy season is starting to cause problems as festivals are cancelled.
"We regret to say that we have had no choice but to take the hard decision to postpone the date of the festival because of completely sodden ground conditions, including standing water at key access points."
So announced Barnet Medieval Festival, a whole two weeks before their big event, which had been set for 8-9 June. The ground staff reported such a high water table that "even if we could enjoy consistently dry weather over the next two weeks, there’s no guarantee that it would dry sufficiently to take vehicles".
Then we heard similar news from Brockwell Park in south London:
Sadly Brockwell Bounce the free children’s festival tomorrow in Brockwell Park has to be cancelled because of the heavy rain
— Lambeth Council (@lambeth_council) May 28, 2024
Due to the rain the site is currently unsafe for children - but a free event is planned for the school summer holidays insteadhttps://t.co/I3t7F1bHMp
In this case, it wasn't just "because of the heavy rain", but because a string of one-day festivals had churned up the mud in the park over the bank holiday weekend.
Mighty Hoopla, also in Brockwell Park on 1 June, is also threatened by the boggy outlook. At the time of writing, it's still going ahead, but with considerable measures to keep the site safe.
Meanwhile, over in east London, We Are FSTVL in Central Park, Dagenham was also cancelled because of the mire-like conditions.
By this time of year, London's sodden fields and parks have normally dried out. Not this year. The capital, and England in general, has seen record rainfall. We've been through the wettest 18 months since records began in 1836, according to some reports.
With more rain forecast over the coming weeks, we could see further events postponed, and perhaps localised flooding. Food supplies may also take a hit thanks to the incessant rain reducing crop yields.
We Londoners like to moan about the weather, but this year we really do have cause to grumble.
