20 Years Since the Great Storm....

[Shortie]

Spottedb this in the 'Events' bit of the forum just now... I remember watching the tree outside our house wobble dangerously all night, aged eight.. My Dad I seem to remember slept through the whole thing

What do you remember about it?

[Alison]

Mentioned it last night but will do so again! We didn't really get much around our way, more of a down south thing however my eldest niece was born that night so can always quote the date if I were to get asked it in a pub quiz.

[Seahorse]

I was living in Scotland at the time, so wasn't really directly affected.

I was interested to read this morning that the 'Michael Fish debacle' is actually a media myth!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7042220.stm

Claire

[hawthorns]

i was 16 at the time and had just started working. we were working in a 5 star hotel and building a house in the grounds for the md. it was build in the woods. 300 year old trees were going over all day. it was an amazing site to see scary too. we had to go home via fields.

[JennieAtkinson]

Dare I say it .......... we get winds of those strengths every winter, so I know how scary it can be. But at least we don't have any big trees to go down - but loose slates from the roof are always a worry.

[Flummery]

Don't remember it except for subsequent newspaper reports. Must have been fairly quiet up here.

[seasprout]

I remember travelling to work on my moped, weaving in and out of fallen branches, trees and other debris in the road. Very hard staying on because of the gusts. Was one of the few who made it into work cos of all the stuff in the roads.

I was 16.

[Sue]

I remember waking up to the howling of the wind hitting my double sash living room window, scared to death it was going to cave in. Saw a big flash in the distance and then no electricity at around 2am. Luckily I've got gas and had candles so was not in the dark and without coffee. Didn't have any batteries though, so couldn't switch on to find out what the hell was happening (missed the forecasts)
Next morning went to work and gradually saw devastation everywhere, when I got to the main street it was very bizarre, no traffic and shop dummies in the road, plate glass windows caved in, roof tiles everywhere and all the other stuff that had blown around like dustbin lids.
We couldn't work as no electricity and spent the rest of the morning trying to get someone to tarpauline the roof. Most of my staff couldn't get in anyway as they lived out of town and the roads were blocked.
Glad I didn't have an allotment then, my next door allotment neighbour said during the worst of the wind she heard a terrible crashing and her 8 x 6' aluminium greenhouse disappeared and was never seen again!
Sue

[rustylady]

I can't believe it was twenty years ago. The scariest night of my life so far. Woke up around 3 am, not sure what woke me - may be the sound of the wind. Looked out the back window and the trees in the next road were still rooted but being blown to the horizontal. Next thing was the sound of roof slates coming off (next door's new roof - 2 days old) but being blown and sliding down our side onto the flat roof extension. Got the kids up and we sat in the living room till daylight. Didn't dare go outside to see what was happening as slates still coming off. Loads of damage here in East Anglia, but fortunately me and family were OK. Damage to flat roof caused by aforesaid tiles, but fixed by neighbour.

[Nicos]

20 years ago????
I presume this is the one Michael Fish is famous for????

Not much went on in Cheshire I recall...although I remember feeling the loss of some of the Seven Oaks trees- hate to see the death of an old tree.
( were they replaced???)

[kernowyon]

had my one and only car accident that morning, driver on other side of road swerved to avoid a branch and hit me head on, was driving a transit at the time so no real damage to me, just a bit shaken, nothing a packet of ciggies and a few cups of coffee couldn't fix. made it to work on a building site, (was a ceiling fixer/dry liner at the time) we got sent home though when a 40 ft high plasterboard partition wall in the warehouse blew over!! bang was so loud I thought it was a bomb. luckily no-one injured.

[SarzWix]

We were on holiday on Jersey at the time, I was 15. It was really frightening - we watched the roof coming off the hotel opposite us and blowing away. Some friends who had been on holiday with us had left on the ferry before the winds struck, and we couldn't find out if they'd got back safely. The dad of said family was a ship-builder, and told us afterwards that the ferry was actually listing about 10 - 15 degrees further than it should have been to stay upright - he was petrified, but they made it ok. As did we! Our hire car had a tree stuck in the middle of it next day though...!

[pigletwillie]

I was in the Royal Engineers based at Dover, during the storm two of my fellow sappers and I were stuck on a ferry outside of Dover harbour because of the wind. 18 hours later we got off.

I have never been the same on a boat since.

[carlseawolf]

I was 19 at the time and fishing on a trawler in the english channel that week the forcast was SW 10 -11 pos 12, and as jennie say's that's only another day in scotland

[jayne&tony]

I had given birth to my daughter the day before and we had come home that day from the hospital. I was awoken around 1.30 am by the neighbours banging the door asking if i needed to warm a bottle as the power was out but the little angel slept right through, I would have done too if it hadn't been for the caring bl**dy neighbours bless their heartsRtrieved my moped from the hedge at the bottom of the garden next morning