Jim Lawson, 80, has been recording weather data in his garden since he was 14, maintaining detailed daily records of temperature, rainfall, humidity, and air pressure.
He started the hobby in 1958 at his mother’s encouragement and still uses old-school tools like thermometers, barometers, and rain gauges.
Over the years, he’s noticed weather patterns becoming wetter.
His wife, Margaret, relies on his daily readings to know when to hang out the washing.
Although Jim stopped sending his data to the Met Office after moving to a sheltered garden, he continues the hobby for enjoyment and mental sharpness.
He started the hobby in 1958 at his mother’s encouragement and still uses old-school tools like thermometers, barometers, and rain gauges.
Over the years, he’s noticed weather patterns becoming wetter.
His wife, Margaret, relies on his daily readings to know when to hang out the washing.
Although Jim stopped sending his data to the Met Office after moving to a sheltered garden, he continues the hobby for enjoyment and mental sharpness.
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FunTranscript
00:00My name is Jim. I've been taking weather notes since 1958 and full weather readings for much
00:13of that time, but there have been breaks. When I was 12, my mother's cousin over in
00:19Grantham had a postcard that changed colour with the moisture in the atmosphere and this
00:26intrigued me and my mother picked up on this and she bought me something similar for Christmas
00:34that year and I've been taking weather notes ever since but as I upgraded to having my
00:41own proper weather station two years later and here I am now. So since I came up to Lancashire
00:49which was in 1970, I was taking full readings and that ceased. Lovely as this garden is,
00:57it's just not quite up to that office standard with all the trees. I'm doing it now more
01:03for my own amusement. It's interesting keeping the records, noticing various trends which
01:10are happening like it is getting generally wetter over the last 50 years, not consistently
01:19we have dry years. We had one not very long ago that was drier than average but you could
01:26just see this trend coming and another overall trend and it certainly doesn't hang true
01:35is that the first frost of winter and the last frost of spring are generally getting
01:43in the first case later and in the second case earlier. So you do see these kind of
01:49trends and it does suggest to me that global warming is something we have to recognise
01:58as a fact. I don't have plans to stop immediately. I might just upgrade some of my equipment
02:05which is a bit basic. We'll see how we go but to say thankfully I'm feeling a lot better
02:10now and we'll just see how it goes as time goes by. I'm very thankful I've kept fit
02:16enough to undertake this activity. Let's just see how it goes.