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59 minutes ago, newhome said:

Some woman has died in Ireland as her caravan was blown off a cliff ?. Not too awful in Edinburgh yet just ‘fairly windy’ but all the trains are stopping so will make a dash for home soon. 

The pics of that incident are horrific.

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34 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

The pics of that incident are horrific.

Very sad but totally avoidable.

 

If I had seen the forecast I would have hitched up and moved somewhere sheltered, not stayed on the edge of a cliff.  I did the same in Scotland once, we spend 2 nights not on the normal part of the caravan site, but in the shelter of a stone barn with the 'van lashed down.

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Caravans....  I was building mountain tracks in northern Scotland and was living in a caravan on one job, it was on a very exposed carpark with no shelter for miles around. One night I awoke to a terrific wind and was very aware that the caravan was about to blow away.... I jumped out got the work transit and parked it within an inch of the caravan up wind, I lashed the transit to the caravan with a load of rope and went back to bed. It looked a right mess in the morning.... some of the worst rope work I have ever seen. But it kept me safe.  I now live in the most exposed location on this island, I like being right in the guts of the storms when they blow in, it’s exhilarating. Just got back from taking the kids on the quad bike right down to the ocean to watch the waves crashing  in and get covered in sea spray for little tots (2 and 3) they did really well.

67C11949-4C95-4935-8CDB-E1139788EAAD.jpeg

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People underestimate the impact the wind has on vehicles, I think, even though the sight of high sided lorries on their sides just from high winds isn't that uncommon (had a big curtainsider deliver to me this afternoon, I was his last drop and the driver was not looking forward to his return to base with an empty truck).

 

My first ever commercial flight, and my first ever detachment from the lab I was based at, was to RAF Saxa Vord, right at the Northern tip of Unst, in the Shetlands.  The flights were fun, BEA Vickers Viscount from Heathrow to Aberdeen Dyce, another BEA Viscount from Dyce to Sumburgh, then a Loganair Islander up to Unst, landing on what looked at the time to be a brand new runway, constructed by the Royal Engineers (there was a plaque to that effect, but no buildings at all).

 

It was January, so dark when we arrived mid-afternoon, settled into the mess at Saxa Vord then up to do some trials work on one of the radars inside the big "golf ball" on top of the hill the next day.  It was a bit windy in the morning, driving up in a Land Rover, but neither of us were prepared for the trip back to the base at the end of the day.  The wind had got up a bit, not strong by Shetland standards, but around the 50mph mark.  There was a drill for leaving the dome and getting to the Land Rover (which was tied down to rings set into the hardstanding) which involved getting on your knees, tucking a fat rope under your armpit, grabbing it with both hands and when they slid the door open you all shuffled forward on your knees, hanging on to the rope to pull yourself forward, hand over hand. 

 

Upon reaching the Land Rover, two people (roped together) opened the rear door and we all piled in.  As soon as there were half a dozen of us in the thing they untied the chains holding it down and we drove off down the hill, in the pitch dark, along a narrow lane, with the wind threatening to take the Landy off the hill on every bend.

 

It's the only place I'd ever worked where there are no trees at all and the rain blows horizontally, and often.  I have two memories of the place that stand out.  The information board in the mess helpfully told us that the nearest railway station was Bergen, Norway, and when I went down to Haroldswick to send my Mother a postcard, I found that it was the most Northerly Post Office in the UK.  The really nice lady in the Post Office guessed the postcard was to my mum, so asked me if I'd like a really clear franking stamp, then hand-franked it with a stamp saying that it was posted at the most Northerly Post Office.  The hilarious thing was that I wasn't allowed to tell my Mother where I was going, (middle of the Cold War), so she was really shocked to receive it and had to get an atlas out to see where I was.  The next postcard she got from me was a month later, when I was working at Akrotiri, in Cyprus, and again she had no idea I was going there.  Funny old times back then, we really did think that nuclear Armageddon was coming any minute.

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Been very blowy here, luckily I moved my dogs into my neighbours kennel block at the weekend because their usual accommodation has moved itself about 6 feet , oh and the back of 3 this afternoon the awning on the caravan took off so it was a dash in driving rain and wind to rescue washing machine, tumble dryer and everything else that was in there before it all disappeared,all this while babysitting a two year old ?

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Guest Alphonsox

Very wild here today - A large solar powered maker buoy from the local mussel farm arrived on the beach around midday, closely followed by a dead sheep. Both were left on the shore as the tide went out. Their respective owners were contacted, the buoy was picked up around 5pm, the sheep is still lying there - does this count as "road kill" on a Scottish island ? Anyone got a good recipe ?

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4.5 hours to get home from work. Very grim. All trains out of Edinburgh cancelled, overhead lines are down, so ended up getting a bus and begging the bus driver to let more on when he said he was full. He let 5 more on. I was number 3 of 5 so very lucky as there were about another 30 left in the queue and at least an hour to wait. Stood all the way but glad to be home eventually.

 

Some of the masonry from Top Shop on Princes Street blew off and police and paramedics were attending as I walked past. Several trees had blown down and onto cars. Several vans and lorries had blown over on the A1. It's windy but it's the gusts that take you off your feet. 90mph apparently. Got home to both wheelie bins having upturned (put a stack of bricks on them this am but to no avail). Rubbish everywhere but that will be a job for tomorrow. One of next door's large trees has several branches missing and looks the worse for wear. Most definitely working from home tomorrow! Stay safe anyone still out in it! 

 

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1 minute ago, dpmiller said:

called down to the site this evening to check up, to find the site loo had gone for a wander before being righted, tied off and propped by the neighbour. I didn't look inside...

Don’t open the door! It’ll be a true s*** storm in there! Call the supplier, blame it on the builder and a dodgy kebab !

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