View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Sunday 22 November 2009

Rough weather?

Not here in the Western Isles. Don't believe me? Have a look at these pics, which were all taken in the last 7 days. The only day that could remotely be classified as 'rough' was Thursday, and even that was 'only' at force 6.


Sunday 22 November, 7.40 pm


Sunday 22 November, 9 am


Saturday 21 November, 12.25 pm


Friday 20 November, 4.50 pm


Friday 20 November, 12.25 pm


Thursday 19 November, 10.15 am


Wednesday 18 November, 8.40 am


Tuesday 17 November, 2pm

Wet feet - day 4

Cumbria is once more afflicted with heavy rain and gales. An average November day, if it wasn't for the catastrophic floods of Thursday and Friday. Eleven bridges have collapsed across the county, one collapse was caught on amateur video. One more, at Workington, is unstable and liable to come down at any moment. Even if it stays upright, it is so severely undermined that it will require to be replaced at any rate. The Calva Bridge has been in position for a century and a half. The bridge situation is making life extremely difficult. To travel from the north to the south of Workington, e.g., requires a detour of 90 miles, through Penrith and Carlisle.

Residents and business owners have started to make their return to homes and premises in Cockermouth and Workington, only to find total devastation. The owner of a chemist shop took one look and ran away, according to the BBC reporter. The cost of this disaster to home owners alone is at least £50-100 million. The cost of repairing or replacing infrastructure can be added to that.

A Jland death

Lori, (of Lori's Love Tribe) from Sunshine CO, passed away this morning (22 November 2009) at 4.30 am local time, after a heroically fought battle against cancer. At the moment of diagnosis, last summer, it was already incurable.  

I have asked one of her neighbours in Sunshine, our own David, to write a tribute for Silent Keyboards / Jland Angels. This will be posted by myself as soon as it becomes available. I was not a reader of Lori's blog, and am saddened that I only came to know of this lady in the last hours of her life, probably at the moment of her death. Reading back through the journal, I will go so far as to say that a great person has been lost to the community of Sunshine, and to Jland / Bloggerville.

Sunday 22 November

Overcast and presently fairly bright. The barometer is at a low point, 975 mbar, and will probably dip another 10 points to level out between 960 and 965 mbar later this afternoon. The centre of a low pressure system will pass directly over us - and we're in the eye of the storm. Further south, conditions are pretty atrocious, according to the radar pictures.

Bridges in Cumbria remain a focus for concern; one, in the town of Workington, is on the point of collapse. More than half a dozen others, out of 1800 in Cumbria as a whole, are being assessed for structural soundness. The closure of bridges is going to lead to colossal traffic chaos; travelling from the north of Workington to the south requires a diversion of up to 100 miles.