Today’s word was “rawin” meaning: ‘A measurement of atmospheric wind speed and direction made by tracking a balloon-borne target with radar; (also) the balloon-borne radar target, often combined with a radiosonde (cf. rawinsonde n.). Freq. attrib’, (OED). There was certainly no need for a rawin this morning as it was just bitterly cold; knowing the speed and direction of the biting wind would have made no difference to the need for wearing layers and layers and layers. Time for the thermals methinks! Anyway, in the absence of a genuine rawin, I sought out alternative balloons. The Conran shop has some in the window on the left-hand side, but they are rather over-shadowed by the gummy-bear balloon thing that has suddenly appeared on top of the ‘phone box. It’s all rather odd – the fixing is solid and proper, so it’s not just been stuck up there with a bit of chewing-gummy by a passer-by. I’m wondering if it’s an underground campaign to sabotage Paddington Bear …
Day #333 of a 365 project, where the daily pic is informed by the OED word of the day.