evening all


I didn't realise you had been living in your house so long Nyannie.......!!!!


Have a lovely weekend everyone xxxx

I watched the weather forecast this evening and must admit I'm getting slightly worried about this storm they say is heading our way.
O/h says they're just covering themselves after they got it so wrong back in 1987, I hope he's right as I remember that night very well indeed.

We'd been in this house just a year and we'd worked hard to get the garden nice and child friendly, with new fences, lawn, a small greenhouse and o/h had put his new shed up the previous weekend. We were woken in the early hours by the sound of shattering glass and we lay in bed and listened to the greenhouse demolishing itself. The lights were flickering so we got up and filled flasks of boiling water so that at least we could make tea if we lost power. We're so British.

At about 4am, o/h had a moment of madness when he went outside and retrieved half his shed door (why?!)

At first light we could see the shocking damage that had been caused by the storm. It looked as if a JCB had been driven through the bottom of the garden. All fences between our five houses were missing, the greenhouse was a lump of twisted metal with one pane of glass left in it, the shed was lying on it's back, most of the ridge tiles were missing from our roof (we later discovered one of the main beams was fractured) and our garage roof (replaced just six months previously) was embedded a foot deep, at a jaunty angle in our neighbours front lawn.
There were trees down all over the place.

The lighthouse just offshore from here recorded winds of 110mph before going off the scale.

I can honestly say I'm not keen to repeat the experience.

Yes I too remember that storm, I was living in London, heard the wind banging branches on the window and woke up to mass chaos, trees had come down and blocked most of the major routes ...anywhere...

The power of the wind can be devastating at times....I too hope that this coming storm isn't as bad...apparently its much worse when the trees are still in leaf....and haven't shed their leaves, as it gives the wind more to push against....


Emergency averted.....daughter wanted a pair of boots for her birthday, we were going to order them online, but they were out of stock.....and eventually found on Amazon. good old amazon......

Oh Lena, I am so sorry to hear about the damage. I thought the storm was coming on Sunday night. Having said that, we have had lots of wind. I've weighted down my dustbin and made sure our garden table is OK. Somehow I think coasts will take the brunt of the storm.

Please stay safe. We have just checked our candle supply and torches. O/H will also have to check the generator just in case! Not looking forward to the next couple of days.

I have cancelled a visit to Oxford to see a friend. Don't want to get stuck!

Morning all.

Please stay safe everyone!

Wind is really blowing here but expect real storm on Sunday. Very worrying.

I too remember the storms of 1976 - I lived in London and worked in Guildford, so couldn't go to work. I also remember hurricanes when I lived in the US - NO fun at all!

Must go and check thermos situation.

Interesting to hear everyone's storm stories....Lena, it sounds as though you had a terrible time

Our story has entered into family folklore. We were also living in London at the time. We had two small children aged about five and three, so naturally I woke up at the first puff of wind. O/H, on the other hand, slept soundly throughout the night I wandered around like the lady with the lamp, watching wood and small items flying terrifyingly through the air and unable to do anything about it. We had a large trampoline, the size of a double bed, and I was convinced it was going to take off and smash into someone's window. No way anyone could go out and tie it down by then, though, such was the strength of the wind

By the morning, there was chaos all around, and our neighbour's brand new Saab had been cut in two by a large tree that was now blocking the street. When I said to O/H, ' I don't think I'll send the kids to school today' he looked at me blankly.....he really had not heard a thing!!

The children always remember the few days when, with traffic unable to get through, the road became a play street and neighbours actually talked to each other

No fun for those affected like Lena, though.....

Stay safe everyone xx

Hope you've all had a good day, it's actually been nice here with sunny spells a bit of a breeze and it's incredibly mild.
I've just been out in the garden to get in the washing and feed our foxy friend wearing a long sleeved t-shirt. I've worn more during the summer!

Nyannie, a lady after my own heart.....checking your Thermos. Mine have been unearthed from a box in the conservatory (trying not to worry about how that might fair as we didn't have one back in '87) although we have a gas hob now so we can boil a saucepan if needs be.

Lindy, your o/h sounds like my son (who was seven at the time) and also slept soundly. He can still sleep through almost anything (he works nights) and providing he's asleep before it starts I've known him to sleep through pneumatic drills virtually under the bedroom window!!

Jolly bad luck for your neighbour though.

I see we all have vivid memories of that night. The windows were plastered with sand and I can still hear my exasperated Mum now (on the phone at five thirty in the morning) asking me to talk some sense into Dad who was up and shaving by candlelight getting ready for work, while they could still hear tiles rolling down their roof. Is that what they mean by 'spirit of the blitz'? He used to commute with my o/h up to Croydon....needless to say they went nowhere for several days.

Anyway, I think we're as prepared as we can be. O/h has been round the garden rounding up pots and placing them altogether in a sheltered part of the garden and everything has been tidied into the shed. It's just fingers crossed now and hope it's not as bad as they say it might be.
Who knows.....maybe it will miss us altogether.

Honestly nyannie, how did you cope with hurricanes?

Keep safe and see you all in the morning.

On a brighter note, I meant to have posted this the other day.

My son and o/h were watching Monty Python and laughing hysterically at this sketch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y which made me think of John.

He always liked a good argument, he could have probably used this service.

love the clip Lena, Monty Python is always funny....


We are kind of waiting for the storm, there isn't much point in tidying the garden up today is there?

Good Morning JJat

firstly everyone keep safe,

not looking forward to the storm coming
i remember the last one
had to get my table and chairs and the shed roof back from
next door
not sure if they went over the fence, that might of come down later

going out now to remove things from the garden, the spotlight,
sunbeds , the barbecue and heaters.

please everyone take care
and check in if your internet is up and running
love Jx

Morning all

Like everyone else I am not looking forward to this storm, though it's notforecast to be as bad as 1987 .....

I'm just off to fill my car up with petrol and top up on milk, bread and cheese while I'm at it - don't want to get caught out Also will charge up my mobile and the kindle, so that at least I can sit and read if the lights do go out

I'm hoping to be able to watch Downton Abbey before the storm kicks in at it's worst......

Great result for Liverpool yesterday

Stay safe everyone and as Georgy says, check in if you have Internet x

Morning all.

O/H has been out to unblock the drain - AGAIN!!!!

I am about to go out to put pots in another place. I am also charging up my mobile and o/h has put some bread on and we have washed out thermos flasks and have some bottles of water just in case . Unfortunately tomorrow is rubbish day so need to anchor the bin behind the wheelie bin which is heavier! I'm also going to do some ironing today as don't know if we will have electricity tomorrow.

We had lots of hurricanes when I was living in NY - although the coastal places got it worse. We just moved our porch furniture to the cellar, closed the windows and rolled up our awnings! We used to have lots of wind and rain - very scary at times.

Best go and do my chores.

Just got back from mum's...a 30 mile round trip. I am very glad to be home, I have to say. The storm hasn't really got going yet but it's already pretty gusty and there's a lot of surface water on the roads. Here's hoping it doesn't get too bad....

xx

Hope everyone is keeping safe.x

Hello bblover Great to hear from you !! We've missed you. Are you expecting storm conditions where you are?

Hope you're well

Lindy xx

Thanks bblover,

Morning JJat
just checking in
all good here
hope all are well and safe
Jxxx

Morning all - just checking in.

Hope everyone is OK.

Thanks for your good wishes bblover. Nice to see you.

Sun is out but it is very, very windy. No trains running from our local station until 10 am so have cancelled my trip to Oxford. We had a huge amount of rain last night! Truly awful!!!

Keep safe everyone!

its very windy here, but the worst bit was the bins...its our rubbish day as well. I gave up on putting out the paper recycling bin, but the street was so messy this morning, when I took the dogs out......black bins blown in the road....etc

The wind is quite exhilarating, but I did get nearly knocked off my feet......so have retreated inside!!!

its due to blow over by midday isn't it? Then we can assess the damage

they were also talking on the news about how people in their late 40s early 50s have the smallest percentage of savings.....and are least prepared for retirement....

Can I say this to me is totally unsurprising, if you look back into things like the financial crash of the early 90s and negative equity, and having to pay out a lot more for kids going to university etc...My parents generation got the advantage of massive rises in the value of their property, secure pensions a free and efficient national health service, with free dentistry and free glasses., free transport to schools and sixth forms. etc.....My generation has just had to pay out ..all the time.....for everything especially if you have kids.....

Morning all

Just checking in
Very windy and torrential rain here last night
But we're fine

Hello Lena......you okay?

Just re checking in again
pleased to see you Lindy, Augusta and Nyannie

hope lena is ok,
but i did hear quite a few houses have power out

220,000 homes, I heard.... Lena' s could be among them

Morning all. Hope Lena J is OK -

We had really strong winds and a lot of rain but thankfully no damage or trees down. O/H said there were some big branches down on his way to work and said very few of his colleagues went to work.

A village about 5 miles from here had very severe damage and lost all their power. Luckily we have a generator to keep fridge and freezer on and a couple of lights. My friend in London said there were only a few trees down around her way. I think we have been so very lucky.

Glad to hear everyone else OK. I even got some emails from friends in Australia and NZ to see how we were.

Hope Lena checks in soon. Worried about her.

Morning JJat

Me to Nyannie, hope we hear from lena soon, she was hit so hard in the last storm

very nice that your friends e mailed, to check you were ok, very kind and thoughtful.

my son also made it into work, and its a long journey, he just left early, 6.20 checked and researched his route, changed it to main roads only, dodged the flooded areas, and the small
tree filled roads and made it in at 7.30.

i told him to stay at home, but he wanted to get in.

The gardens a bit of a mess, leaves everywhere, few branches down in the trees behind us, but nothing major and
the sun is shining today. Need to get a few things done, need to get some flowers to welcome the new people into the road

be back later

Georgy Im impressed your son got in......does he have to travel an hour every day?

well my garden is almost ok, an old fence panel came down and my honeysuckle arch needs a bit of attention....part of the metal frame needs to be pushed back in...but nothing dramatic, although there have been quite a few big trees round here that have blown over. And the trains still aren't running properly this morning......

but it sounds like it has been worse in Europe, hope bblover is ok......???