The Horrors Of -

Hermaneutical Solipsistic Exegeses!
No, only joking, just seeing if you were paying attention.  I was going to say "The Horrors of  - "  <drum roll to build tension>  "Hydrology!"  You know, the science of H2O.
     However, that can wait, since I am now watching an episode of futurologist Gerry Anderson's "UFO", 'Reflections in the Water' - see?  See how everything is linked?* - which I used to think was set in the Mediterranean.  It isn't - rather, it is set in Cornwall. Which is attractive enough to have it's own Riviera, though that is really confusing the issue.  Art?

You can bet this won't last until the end of the episode -

     - because, like all the futurologist's programmes, there are lots of things exploding - excuse me - THINGS EXPLODING!!
     Oh I say.  I'm very glad I stayed to watch the end of this episode, Cornwall only though it be.  Not going to say more, we shall come back to this!
     Now, you know your humble scribe: a nerdy number-cruncher on occasions when an idea percolates through his subconscious, is filtered by the Common-sense Gland and ends up in the forefront of his mind.  
     For Lo! we are back on the subject of Toddbrook Reservoir again.  You may be thinking to yourselves "But they drained it, didn't they?"

I bet those workers are tired.  Exhausted, even.  In fact, I bet they feel - 

     Yes, but not completely.  That will come when the dam is rebuilt, so for now there's only 250,000 tons of water remaining.  The thing is - Art?

 

I didn't manage to catch the raindrops as they fell, sorry, though you can tell from this picture that the Atlantic Ocean is paying another visit to our fair Pond of Eden, again, resulting once more in CEASELESS EVER-POUNDING RAIN.
     So, back to Hydrology and how this precipitation affects the Toddbrook Reservoir.  Well, they can control the outflow of water from the reservoir in a rather straitened way; the inflow is quite beyond anybody's control.  For a start, the reservoir itself has a surface area at maximum of 36 acres, which will have been reduced by the partial draining; any rainfall over this body of water immediately increases the overall tonnage.  One quarter-inch of rain over 140 square inches equals a pint.  Art?

In safer times

     Thus, doing a bit of number-crunching, we can see that every quarter inch of rain o'er the reservoir immediately adds about 700 tons of water.  If you get a bad weekend with two inches of rain falling, which is regrettably not impossible, then that's over 5,000 tons of water added.
     The numbers don't stop there, however - you knew there was a "however" coming, didn't you? - because Toddbrook R doesn't rely only on rainfall to fill it.  Oh no.  The main inflow comes from the Todd Brook, which has a catchment area of - get this - 4,200 acres.
     This inflow won't be immediate and it won't all make it to the reservoir, so I shall make a guesstimate and reduce the technical total by 50%, and a certain amount is diverted into the River Goyt, say 50% again, which still means an inflow of 20,000 tons of water.
     Hydrology: the horrifying science!

Though Zombie-creation Labs run them close.

     I say, motley, you look a bit fraught.  Dehydrated after binging on gin last night, eh?  Let me get you a nice cool glass of water ...

Not A Juxtaposition You See Every Day
Conrad had to travel into Babylon-Lite (Oldham if we're being formal) today, in order to do important financial things, which you don't need to know about**.  He was struck by the sheer incongruity -
     Here an aside.  "Incongruity" has it's root in "Congruence", which is - INEVITABLY DAM IT!*** - derived from Latin, the word "Congruere" meaning "To agree".  Your language lesson for today is now over.
     - and shall now nudge Art out of his coal-induced stupor.

     Flowers and astronauts.  Might almost make a good name for either a song or a band.  I shall pass this on to Shelli the cello-dier come Monday.

Conrad Is Angry!
Yes yes yes, I can hear you warbling away "How can we tell?" very amusing.  STOP THE MOCKING!  I WILL NOT BE MOCKED!  and let me also add that, yes, I do know where you live, and which car you drive.  Anyway, we all need a bit of Frothing Nitric Ire in our lives from time to time.  Helps to ginger up the constitution.
     As you may have guessed, this concerns a Cryptic Crossword answer.  Not the clue, this time.  Art?

Recess

     Okay, a little about the clue.  "A quiet corner for a holiday", which is "RECESS".  Which smacks far too much of being a South Canadianism for Your Humble Scribe's comfort.  And yes, I did go look it up in my Collins Concise, which does have it as a pause in a business or Parliament, but that was about fifth in the list of definitions.  Too much South Canadian! Be more Pond of Eden!  Conrad has held forth and you'd better pay attention! (as being put in the Lower Dungeon can seriously affect your credit rating).
     That is all.

Finally -
Not quite all.  We still need another short article to hit the Compositional Ton.
     Aha!  Yes.  On page 583 of Peter Caddick-Adams "Snow and Steel" he remarks that the Teuton panzers, whilst going off-road in the heavily-forested Ardennes, found it difficult to get on target, as their gun's had a significant overhang beyond their hull front.  The humble Sherman Mark IV, on the other hand, didn't have any such problems.  Art?
                               

     Interestingly enough, this is exactly what the memoirs of David Pender said about fighting in the forested Normandy bocage country.  

     We may well come back to this, because you can never have enough of TANK, nor of Conrad's thoughts about them.  I've got that right, haven't I?


*  Don't indulge the boastful old biffer or he'll be unbearable <Mister Hand with the unpleasant truth>
**  Because they are tediously dull! <explained Mister Hand>
***  Again, don't indulge the fearful old fraud.  Just don't!