Where is here? I’m in Amboise 37. Been raining since forever. Forecast still grim. Waiting to prune. Garden is sodden.
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Doesn’t quite have the same romance as an old, analogue barometer that you have to tap though 
Probably a lot more accurate though.
We won’t fall out over this… but my Dad’s old barometer is accurate… and doesn’t need tapping 
That was something Dad which forbade us to do…
But as a youngster I was fascinated by the whole set-up and (hopefully unnoticed) I used to tap it to see if I could jiggle the thingy … sometimes the tap did make it move very slightly… sometimes it did absolutely nothing … except irritate dear old Dad 
In days gone by, the BBC Weatherman would give a pressure reading so that folk could check their own barometers… no idea if that is still going-on… but it’s easy to doublecheck via the internet these days…
About 10 years ago… we did allow our local jeweller to purchase a replacement innards for one of our clocks… he’s mended others of ours and we trust his judgement. Seems this time there was some important bit he simply couldn’t source/rebuild.
However, we have kept the original innards … for sentimental reasons… the clock belonged to my French grandma. It was made by Samuel Marti…
and it always sat on the mantle over the fireplace, in every house my family lived in… so many memories for me…
Ask and ye shall receive!
I think Stella is right - the barometer did suffer a fall some time back, possibly during the move to France…I suspect it might have done significant damage that finally became apparent this past week. Ciaran might have been a coincidence.I think it’s probably beyond repair.
Key question: to tap or not to tap an antique barometer? My father in law says never, others are less definite. Any thoughts from those who know about barometers?
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According to the Royal Meteorological Society you should always give it a light tap to get rid of any friction.
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Especially if you’ve lubricated it with WD40 
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If you fancy a repair project you could send photos and a description to these people. They seem very helpful and have a lot of parts …
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I’m glad you posted that, because I have been doing it for years, but only in the last dozen or so with a clear conscience when I read something similar. The light tap gives you the direction of travel. 
I’m now worried I’ve been tapping too vigorously during the past few years, which might, possibly have also contributed to the recent death of my barometer.
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Don’t waste time worrying about it… what’s done is done…
Treat the next one more kindly. 
As I’ve said… Dad always reckoned no-tapping was the way to go and we never had any problems knowing in which direction the pressure was going…
There is the “silver” marker which he would physically move once a day, to match the independent arrow…
For those barometers which only have 1 marker, the independent one of course… yes, I concede that a gentle tap will possibly allow one to know the direction of change… if the independent marker is actually stuck in a position and needs the tap to help free it to move to wherever
After all this discussion I now feel the need to acquire a barometer of my own!
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Plenty of smartphone apps out there.
You have the various pressures of a whole forum
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They’re far too high tech. All you need is a small rock suspended from a string and this placard:
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Where’s the fun in that?!
Besides, how can I contribute to the ‘To Tap Or Not To Tap’ debate with an app?!
Oh, hang on…
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But you need to tap the app to make it work
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I am rather concerned… that if folk are going to tap… they do need to tap the barometer in the correct place… 
Some think bottom righthand corner… some insist it’s top left… 
There is probably a 67 page official document telling us the correct location … probably… somewhere… over the rainbow… who knows…
While you guys are watching the skies or tapping your barometers, I’ve just popped across the road and looked down to check the rising of the Lot (good movie title!)
We’re hundreds of kms from the Atlantic coast and only got brushed albeit intensely by the first storm, but it’s been raining steadily for days and the river overflowed its bank on Saturday. Fortunately above the bankside foot path there’s an embankment that supports the riverside road. The house is safe - it sits on a rocky outcrop several metres above the river, but just hoping I don’t have to move several stères of wood that’s down below at the level of the road. Whatever happens in the next couple of days, I’d already decided to get a flood barrier for the cave door in anticipation of increasingly common Spring floods- our electrics and stove pellets are down there.
Nevertheless fairly sanguine about it all after adventures in Cumbrian floods - don’t remember any in the early Nineties, but by the time I returned to the UK in the Noughties things had changed dramatically. Won’t bore you with personal experiences, but it’s remarkable how a small shift in temps produced such a dramatic change in weather conditions and environmental consequences. Previously snow stayed on the high fells for weeks or months despite the environmental degradation (5000 years of tree-felling and sheep faming) but now precipitation falls as rain that immediately runs off the bare fells into the very short rivers (many of which had been straightened) water rushes towards the coast and overflows into any low lying areas.
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And I regret that we got rid of my father’s drum barometer! Not missed it for 40 odd years, but suddenly a small pang.
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