Trouble with the wind - Happy Christmas gale!

[Oldpinkman]

Boy that was a serious gale last night. Apart from a couple of sessions rescuing noisy debris in the night, this appears to have been the main casualty - now made temporarily secure. Oh, and one gutter clip on the grass when I can't for the life of me work out where it came from

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t582/oldpinkman/DSC_00113_zps8dcd0e66.jpg (http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/oldpinkman/media/DSC_00113_zps8dcd0e66.jpg.html)

Anybody else affected?

[The Grand Wazoo]

Domestically, no not yet. But it's on it's way.
Professionally, I'm a little nervous for the stability of a very large area of woodland that I've just had thinned. The owner may get the hump if it all falls over. However, that's the risk you take when you manage woodland - if you thin, it increases the chance of it being blown. If you don't thin, it will fall over too, but it's no-one's 'fault'!

I lost a big compartment of Corsican pine on Christmas Eve 1996 (I think it was), so I'm hoping I don't get a call like the one I got on Christmas Day that year.

[kenworthy100]

In my part of Essex the winds were extremely gusty and destroyed a close board fence and damaged fascia panels on my house. Further up my road there is a new build old peoples home which has lost a number of roof tiles. Apparently relatively close to us some houses are without power. So generally not good.

[archiesdad]

So far it hasn't reached us yet, although the bad weather seems to moving across from the west as I type, merely a couple of hailstone flurries, time yet though.

[Ali Tait]

Wind is starting to get up now.

[Marco]

And that's minus any Vindaloo! :eyebrows:

Marco.

[Oldpinkman]

As I posted on the Maidstone bake-off thread, having battened down our roofing felt, the rains continued and our village had its worst flood ever (it was almost as bad in 2000).

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t582/oldpinkman/DSC_0008_zps34efb9ec.jpg (http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/oldpinkman/media/DSC_0008_zps34efb9ec.jpg.html)

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t582/oldpinkman/DSC_0002_zpsb891e4a5.jpg (http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/oldpinkman/media/DSC_0002_zpsb891e4a5.jpg.html)

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t582/oldpinkman/DSC_0013_zps1ace3393.jpg (http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/oldpinkman/media/DSC_0013_zps1ace3393.jpg.html)

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t582/oldpinkman/DSC_0009_zps6668301d.jpg (http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/oldpinkman/media/DSC_0009_zps6668301d.jpg.html)

We went down after breakfast on Christmas Day to see how our friends were coping. Both live down the road which goes off to the right at the back of the second picture, and both had water in the house up to 4 feet in the downstairs rooms. Karen and Tony had made arrangements to stay with Karens mum, and Tim and Lucy had been offered an empty house which a friend had. We returned at 5 in the evening to check with the rescue services (there were helicopters and inflatables in use rescuing all day and through the previous night) and were directed to the church where refugees were being cared for. We took in Louise and Darren and their 13 year old Lab "Lady" who were the last to be evacuated on one of the zodiacs. Just got them settled and fed, and the power went off, and stayed off until about 4PM yesterday. Fortunately we managed to borrow a generator from my ex-wifes new man and had 3KVA from mid-afternoon boxing day until the power was restored.

A Christmas to remember! :eek: