A wild night of winds kept the entire Castle household awake last night, as storms ruthlessly began to batter Scotland. As I write, some 24 hours later the relentless rain and wild winds continue to roar exultantly about us.
Huddled by the well fed wood burning stove for comfort, myself, the elderly Basset and 2 listless cats settle in for the night, as our ‘all weather concerto’ plays on, enhanced by the percussion of sundry outdoor accoutrements flying about, roof slates, tree’s, girls trampoline and a motley collection of long suffering garden furniture.
Who knows what the morning will bring, until then we shall enjoy the warmth and give thanks that the power is still on, according to the news, much of central Scotland is without, to blessed are we. My family are in Glasgow tonight, safe and warm and much missed.
As I type, I am minded of one early New Year in our ‘Red Shed’ life, with two small delighted giggly girls as we prepared to head down to the local Ceilidh in the village hall, mid bath, suddenly ‘the lights went out’.
Below is my account of that night, a testament to the way we lived then and now and the enormity of the environment that hosts our lives.
While you read, I am consigning myself to on-line shopping and ticking off a long to-do list and hopefully an early restful bed.
THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
All over Cowal residents prepared to see the bells in, frocks and shirts hung ready, party food was prepared, halls decked out and swept and bands warmed up in anticipation for the big night of the year. In our house a huge bubble bath was drawn ready for small girls to clean up and don dresses, when suddenly ‘bang’ the lights went out. A fairly regular event for us, especially if there is what the Hydro Call Centre refer to as ‘weather’ going on or if one of our long-suffering neighbours goes mad and has more than one ‘power’ shower a day!
Undeterred we dug out the camping stove and had our tea by candle light, although the sharp drop in temperature was hard to ignore as the heating went off, party dresses fast disappearing under jumpers, fleeces and finally duvets. Across Cowal candles blazed and generators were set up by a resourceful few to get the parties going. For Glendaruel and Colintraive the two halls saw the new year in, in style with everyone on the dance floor to keep warm.
At its peak the power was off for over 26,000 homes across Scotland. By the 2nd of January 900 homes were still without power, including a large number of houses in Colintraive,
As Storms battered their way across the peninsula, SEPA issued flood warnings. Rainfall in Argyll, over the festive season reached 55 millimetres and wind speeds of up to 70 miles per hour were recorded. Temperatures for the time of year are comparatively mild although snow on the hills may herald the long looked for frosts. Whatever the weather this new year, we will be keeping our fingers crossed that we don’t loose essential services and that repairs made by service providers now are durable, up to date and able to sustain communities in 21st-century Cowal
