Doris Day

The predicted weather-bomb swept through much of the country today, wreaking havoc as she passed.  We got off more lightly than many, though on my way back from dropping Ben at college, the country roads were littered with twigs and branches, and at Castor a larger tree had fallen across part of the road, though luckily I was able to get past without waiting for it to be removed. Elsewhere there were multiple reports of fallen trees and twelve lorries have blown over on local roads, mostly in the exposed fens. Quite an impact!

Our crack willow has shed plenty of twigs and larger branches, and the Scot's pine was swaying rather alarmingly around lunchtime, when the wind was strongest, as you can see in the image. At one point the cold frame, which is normally sited in a sheltered corner of the patio, was blown all the way down the garden. But this time we didn't suffer any serious damage - all the roof tiles stayed firmly in place!

Having spent much of the day indoors, I decided to go down to the river for a walk just after 4pm. It was still very windy, and many of the trees were creaking and moaning quite alarmingly. I picked my way round some fallen branches, and then chose a route along the riverbank, out of the way of the larger willows, several of which had sustained serious damage. For a while the sun appeared form behind the clouds, illuminating the golden spring hue of the willow twigs, which contrasted strongly with the receding steel-grey clouds of the storm (see extra). So exhilarating!