The Garden Fence - proper Old Style support and chat!

CRANKY40

My sister lives in Cork Mar and she said they've been forecast snow :eek:

monnagran

Greenbee, Oh yes, that was the reason for the blue lights last night. The house wasn't razed to the ground, as one report had it, but the roof had disappeared on one side and the other was badly holed. One half of the house was completely gutted and windows were damaged all through.

Absolutely terrifying to see such a thing just 100 yards from where we were, and to think it affected people that I spoke to if they were outside when I passed. I went up to post a letter and when I was there the removal men were finding furniture that was not too badly damaged to put into store.
Burnt furniture and property was being dragged outside. Really sad.
I guess it must have happened about the time of the terrible clap of thunder that sent Millie into orbit.

You always think that it couldn't happen to you. Well, it nearly did this time.

This is the second time I've been too close to a tragedy with lightning. On a baking hot July day in 1955 we set off from school to walk to the bus stop. Another friend waved goodbye as she had met a couple of boys from the neighbouring boys grammar school and they were cycling across the common to go swimming.. A couple of minutes later the heavens opened and we dashed across the road where some trees offered a bit of shelter. Our other friend and the 2 boys did the same and dragged their bikes under a tree. The first flash of lightning killed all three. They were 15 and 16 years old.

Since then I couldn't be out in a thunderstorm. Now I won't even feel safe indoors, though up till now I've quite enjoyed watching through a window.

Anyway, that's today's news.

Back to a more comfortable ordinariness tomorrow.

greenbee

I'm not surprised you don't like storms after that experience Monna! And I'm relieved to here the house wasn't burnt to the ground.

Water levels are up here after all the rain, but otherwise we haven't seen much impact - the maps show that strikes were all round us but somehow missed us.

I've spent today splitting logs. Given how creaky I feel and how full the log store is looking I'd expected to see the pile of bits of tree on the patio looking smaller.

I'm wondering whether I should nip over to the KM thread and see whether I can persuade GQ that a few days with an axe and a log splitter would be a lovely holiday

monnagran

Good luck with that. I don't think that GQ is the gullible sort.

camelot1001

If I lived nearer greenbee I would be there. I love splitting logs. Although I have a wood burner here there isn't anwhere to store logs, I just buy them. I spent many a happy hour at the old house playing with an axe!

What terrible tragedies monna, glad you survived both strikes.

The rain from this morning cleared and I've put some wooden trellis on the fence, managed to use an electric screwdriver and haven't made a bad job if I may say so myself. All I need now is for the sweet peas to grow.

greenbee

camelot1001 wrote: »

If I lived nearer greenbee I would be there. I love splitting logs. Although I have a wood burner here there isn't anwhere to store logs, I just buy them. I spent many a happy hour at the old house playing with an axe!

Feel free to visit any time... the pile will be there for a while!

I have an electric log splitter as well as an axe. I'm currently working my way through the smaller logs. Some of them have been left too big for me to split with either an axe or the log splitter, so I'm going to have to get someone over with a chainsaw to reduce the size a bit.

I have a feeling I've caught the sun today, even though I was working in the shade. And I'm going to be creaky tomorrow, so I have a couple of work things to do (booking airport parking for tomorrow and taxis for Tuesdays trip and doing last week's expenses...) and then I think I need a long soak in the bath!

LameWolf

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

No Irish in me at all but Oh Boy can I also carry a grudge and keep it simmering Oh YES!!! I wonder if it's a Scandinavian thing too?

As can I. My mother was Welsh and my father - whichever of the two candidates was actually my biological father - was Scottish.

MMF007

maryb wrote: »

We're just on our way back home after doing (most of) the NC500. I say most of because we didn't do the bit round John O Groats, we went up to the North coast via Helmsdale instead, and we finished at Fort William rather than going back to Inverness. Stunning scenery and pleasant weather apart from today. So I think we picked the right week weather wise

Mary, did you get a giant fish supper at La Mirage in Helmsdale?? I know the area well. The views all along from Golspie to past Helmsdale and inland on that single track road are world class, aren't they?

Speaking of thunder - a few years ago DH and I were walking in the mountains when thunder rumbled round. I jokingly said that I was safe because he is so much taller than me. DH said not to joke because one of his classmates had been killled by lightening. Nature is a powerful thing.

wondercollie

maryb wrote: »

We're just on our way back home after doing (most of) the NC500. I say most of because we didn't do the bit round John O Groats, we went up to the North coast via Helmsdale instead, and we finished at Fort William rather than going back to Inverness. Stunning scenery and pleasant weather apart from today. So I think we picked the right week weather wise

Any recommendations on where to stay? We are thinking of doing it in October.

Apparantly we've rented a Skoda. I'm not allowed to drive. What the heck? My friend usually winds up taking control of whatever car we rent. I just pay for the fuel and meals on the road. She pays for the rental.

maryb

MMF, we didn't stop in Helmsdale unfortunately. It was beautiful but DH was a bit disconcerted to say the least to find that A roads in the far North of Scotland are single track

It was fine in fact because there are lots of passing places but it might not have been so easy if there had been more traffic