This is not sunset. This is at least half an hour before sunset, and I think it is actually smoke from a fire up north. It was a very hot afternoon which the temperature going up as the hour grew later rather than tapering off. The temperature peaked at 37 degrees celsius at 4.30 pm, and it didn’t go down below 30 degrees celsius till well after midnight.
and the sun was struggling:
the sky looked like a painting from one of the Old Masters
The drama and painterliness of the scene enthralled me:
It almost looks as though the sun has created a concussion in the smooth running of that great cloud:
closer shots of sun in cloud and just clouds:
As the cloud gained more strength, as the sun sank towards the horizon, the colours paled, the drama was subsumed into the inevitable:
Shots of the entire sky, with all the colours of late afternoon and deep sunset all in the one place:
This sequence, as one part of dense cloud looked as though it was a wolf swallowing the sun:
The sun is fighting the cloud:
a moment of startling drama:
As the sun was swallowed entirely, there was another sense of painting – Turner-esque and soft with the rays of light fighting out:
The sky devolved into blues and whites with touches of colour:
and at the last, when sunset had been swallowed, a view of the clouds and delicate colours looking down William Street towards the city:
Today is it (finally) raining, and there is heavy cloud. I’m not sure there will be a sunset, but the rain and the coolth of the world is lovely 🙂
mtlawleyshire 
Wonderful shots Keira! There was a fire here in Darlington a week ago, and through the black smoke plume the lowering sun looked like a ball of crimson.
The rain today has been drenching and beautiful. :))
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It was so intriguing, Joanna! Yes, I heard about that fire & wondered if you had seen it – & where was your camera? 😀
We didn’t get much drenching rain, but certainly the garden appreciated it. The levels in my water bins hasn’t been raised all that much. But the coolth is so welcome!
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