NATURALLY LUCKY

So, back home.  We decided to be here when the next round of storms hit, having spent most of Christmas Eve in Devon trying to stem the flow of rain through our windows and mopping up with towels.  The rain seemed to be hitting us horizontally (at 80 mph, according to the local weather report).

But it was a curiously mixed period meteorically speaking. Here is the East Cliff Cafe last weekend - warm enough to sit outside.

But the storms were already brewing.

There then followed two days of violent winds and rain which left our own house in Surrey without power for a day and neighbouring Petersfield without power still today.  There have been horrendous floods around our way and landslips (including on the main rail line) and fallen trees across many roads.  I saw this photograph in a newspaper - I couldn't believe that this is where we parked our car in Guildford to do our last minute Christmas shopping the day before going away.  There is a small river nearby . . .

This was the only damage I saw in Devon after the storm, but I guess the wind was quite strong to do this. 

 

 Then, on Boxing day, the tradtional rush into the sea in glorious sunny weather again.  Here are some of the costumes

Someone was playing safe

Santa was being brave

 

Here they all are on the beach, some more without costume than with.

  

and there they go

 

It was of course all to raise funds for the local lifeboat.  Here's the RNLI mascot.

And this is Su Thomas, the artist who provided the paintings for next year's calendar.

 

And this is the waterfront by the East Cliff Cafe again.  Look at the number of people out enjoying the sun!

But, back home, although we were spared the flooding, we seem to have lost some trees.

 

Now, how many different directions could those trees have fallen?  Yet they didn't fall on the road at the rear, nor even onto our lawn.  And, if you look closely, they missed entirely the arch leading to the rear entrance.  And what of our summer house . . . .