Our summer this year has been marked by scarcely broken hot sunshine. Actually for many of us the weather has been too hot, and too dry. But on Monday 4th August this tranquil calm was rudely interrupted. “Storm Floris”, as it has been named, was an unseasonable cyclone sweeping in from the Atlantic. Our local governing Authorities had been loud in issuing advance warnings about this storm; and their predictions turned out to be correct. The shrieking wind achieved gusts up to 90 miles per hour: so a trail of havoc was left in its wake. Trees with a full canopy of leaves were particularly vulnerable. Very many large trees came down; or high branches were ripped off and flung about. Roads in every direction around us were closed because of fallen trees, as was the Inverness-Aberdeen railway line, in both directions.
Also vulnerable of course were overhead power cables. Falling trees or boughs brought these down in multiple places in our area. Apparently the Moray Coast region was among the worst affected in the whole country. Hundreds or thousands of homes around us lost power. Here at Pluscarden, apart from the main pylons that carry power to us from the West, smaller telegraph poles bring in power lines also from the East, crossing our drive just outside the Lodge. These lines pass through woods, and they were severed in several places: as was our internet cable.
The Electrical Supply Services responded as they always do here, toiling heroically by night and day so that power could be restored as soon as possible. Such was the scale of the damage on this occasion though that reinforcements were brought in from all over the country. Some electricity men came up here from as far as the South of England. We were told initially that we could be without power for 3 or 4 days: but happily most of our power was restored by Wednesday evening. Not quite everywhere though, and not the internet. The experience of living without electricity for a couple of days or more certainly shows how dependent on it we so easily become!
Although we could not claim to have suffered any actual hardship or want, nevertheless at nearby Miltonduff Hall a Fish and Chip van established itself, offering free food to anyone who wanted. Hot breakfast, lunch and supper were provided free for all comers. Quantities no problem. No questions asked, apart from: What would you like? or: What can I get you? or, possibly: How can I serve you? And all of that with a cheerful smile.
Our pictures show a couple of our telegraph poles with forlornly dangling wires: also Br. Daniel setting about to clear an Ash tree that had fallen across one of our woodland paths.
Happily for us, no serious damage to buildings was sustained.
