Not any drop to drink...
Famous lines from the epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in the late 18th century. Many of us read it at school, a grim tale of a sea journey that started in hope but then encountered storms, ice, the doldrums, an albatross, fierce sea creatures...
But today, when I read these lines about water and not a drop to drink, I'm struck not by a journey, but by a region. Cape Town and the Western Cape of South Africa is in the grip of a crippling drought. Surrounded by ample seas and usually blessed with wet winters, the area has had very little rain for the past two years. Dams are at an threateningly low level. Just this last week, severe water rationing was introduced. What to do when rain doesn't fall from the skies? Desalination plants have now become an urgent priority.
In researching my novel, The Girl from Simon's Bay, I looked at weather records for the Cape, particularly during the Second World War. I wanted to know the climatic conditions at the time my hero's warship was visiting Simon's Town. Would he arrive in a storm? What was the likelihood that he and Louise would be able to take a walk on the mountain in fine weather or would they have been driven indoors by pouring rain? While I was looking for evidence of storms, I discovered that there were periods of drought and water shortage, too. New dams had to be built and church services included prayers for rain. There were consequences in the following summers. I used what I learnt...
The sun glared down from an unseasonally cloudless sky.
Perhaps it was the sun glancing off a piece of glass that caused the spark.
Fire! shouted the rating from the guardhouse below the hospital...
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