The result was the worst drought the country has ever faced; when Barnes eventually relented, it rained non-stop for seven days.
Helicopters, the preferred mode of transport for the mega-rich, buzz the leaden skies (it rains non-stop when we are there), while vultures circle too, redolent of the vast slums.
The camp is a collection of small, domed tents erected onto concrete with no floors or heating, meaning the entire families living in them are still having to put up with essentially living in a mud bath after it rained non-stop for days a couple of weeks ago.
Helen Mirren was the prime suspect in the latest four-letter blooper to afflict ITV's Good Morning Britain, after she told viewers on Tuesday how it "pissed with rain non-stop" when she went camping.
It's a miserable day in Leeds: unreasoningly cold, grey and non-stop raining.
But when you're working in the Arctic, or the Antarctic, where it is just bitterly cold or the rain is just non-stop, you're limited from going in and out of tents, and you can't have a shower and have nowhere to get dry--that can really weigh on you".
"It was the most horrible night with non-stop rain and snow," he said.
Equally soulful is Kamasi Washington, who, resplendent in red robes, weaves musical magic with his saxophone, while Jessy Lanza and Grace Jones both provide joyous escapism in the midst of hour 10 of non-stop rain.
When he was curmudgeonly about things he disliked – bad books, technology and non-stop rain in the West Country, for example – it was never irritating or dull but witty and pertinent.
Currently in Arizona, the couple has already endured some harsh conditions, including sweltering desert heat, non-stop rain and swirling dust storms, but their spirits haven't waned.
