Driving back from Cheltenham today, the smell hit me before I realised what was coming. That unmistakeable scent of summer rain on hot earth. And as the first huge plips hit the windscreen, I fought the sensible, adult impulse to roll up the windows and instead allowed the side of my body to be drenched as the heavens opened in one of those thunderstorms that seems inevitable after a spell of sunny weather in England.
Of all the senses, smell seems to be the one that can most easily evoke a moment in time. Summer rain will always be a first floor flat in Sheffield, some twenty years ago, when the midcentury modern decor was yet to be re-branded and was still just a horribly, dated early 70s hangover. The hopelessly sticking window with its broken sash cord, wedged wide in the hope of catching any stray breeze. And then that unmistakeable scent.
Moving to sit in front of the open window and watch the rain splash onto the flaking paintwork and wash the layer of dust off the tree outside. There is no photo - I'm not even sure I had a camera then, but somehow the moment remains captured anyway, stored up to be released by the smell of this afternoon.
Oh I know just what you mean about that smell, unmistakeable and memory filled, you described your moment so beautifully.
Posted by: Rebecca | 30 May 2012 at 18:00
You're so right; a smell can instantly transport us back to a flashback moment, sometimes to things we haven't thought about for ages. Hope you've dried out now.
Posted by: Anne@GtSlamseysFarm | 30 May 2012 at 18:25
Cheltenham and Sheffield are both places that I have lived. I was never too keen on the smell of rain after the heat, though - it always seemed too overpowering to me. I was always more a fan of the sound.
Posted by: UK lass in US | 30 May 2012 at 18:27
Oh yes, the power of scent. I too smelt the rain today before I realised what it meant. It meant a basket full of wet clothes.
Posted by: Sue | 30 May 2012 at 18:41
I was hoping for a lot more rain than we actually got today.
Posted by: Toffeeapple | 30 May 2012 at 19:38
It is one of the most evocative scents isn't it. I guess because we must all associate it with the release from heat that has often become hard to bear. Or maybe it's more primeval than that because the coming of the rain must have been celebrated down the millenia.
Gorgeous image ... makes me feel like dancing in the rain, except we don't have any yet!
Posted by: Annie @ knitsofacto | 30 May 2012 at 19:52
That is known as 'petrichor' - the scent of rain on dry earth. (And I thank you Dr.Who: episode 'The Doctor's Wife').
Posted by: trash | 30 May 2012 at 22:11
I could almost smell that evocative warm sudden scent off the screen! Yes, you are so right about the power of smell to transport us completely back somewhere in the past even somewhere we are not conscious of being firmly lodged in our memory. I love that and its unexpectedness because there's something so sudden about all smells. You write beautifully of your time in Sheffield. Doesn't matter that you didn't have a camera - the memory is yours forever even without a pic. How lovely to enjoy it again through summer rain years later.
Posted by: Thomasina Tittlemouse | 30 May 2012 at 22:23
Wonderful post - know exactly what you mean.
Posted by: Gina | 31 May 2012 at 06:49
Such a lovely smell! We have a little table just under our not-quite-a-porch-just-a-sticking-out-bit-of-roof and we sat out there with our cups of tea to enjoy the shower.
Posted by: Amanda | 31 May 2012 at 11:27
Smell leads to such powerful memories, pipe tobacco takes me back to being about 7 and shopping with my Popsie who's pipe was always firmly lodged in his mouth.
Sweet rain on dried earth encapsulates summer. Though as it has been raining all day today I'm ready for the sun again!
Posted by: French Knots | 31 May 2012 at 13:33
Precisely so.
Posted by: Paola | 31 May 2012 at 14:27
There is nothing like warm rain smell ...I have fond memories of it in Canada and dancing in the puddles :-)
Posted by: Sew Create It - Jane | 31 May 2012 at 19:59
Love!
Posted by: Laura | 31 May 2012 at 20:24
I was hoping for a big thunder storm along with the rain, but the storm that arrived was very disappointing.
Posted by: Michelle | 31 May 2012 at 20:28
Lovely memory. I love rain (I'm a deprived Texan) and don't think I could ever get tired of rainy days - love it all - the smell, the feel, the sound of it. And of course, the beautiful green earth as a result.
Happy Weekend!
G
Posted by: Georganne | 02 June 2012 at 16:07
That photo is fabulous!
Posted by: domestikate | 03 June 2012 at 09:08
The smell is just the best thing - especially when the smell arrives minutes before the rain drops themselves!
Posted by: Nancy | 06 June 2012 at 20:55