Most Dispirited

The unexpected gales of Anthony, the first ever UK named August storm, wreaked havoc throughout the night.

Jackie has repaired her ceramic owl wind-chimes on countless occasions, but this crashing onto the patio paving, just a day after she had last glued the myriad of pieces together left it beyond further repair, and her most dispirited. The woven ring is Flo’s work.

The rain eased for the morning. By late afternoon we set out on a shopping trip to Tesco, during which an almighty hatful more, despite being repeatedly replenished, was

thrown down on shoppers, trolleys, and cars alike.

Soon sunshine vied for dominance with the rain.

Wet ponies along Forest Road continued with the important work of stocking up on grass

alongside a new stream running down the moorland slope.

On our return along Forest Road ponies ran up the hill while a young woman, having passed both us and them, ran down.

This evening we all dined on Tesco’s spicy burgers; fried onions; sandwich gherkins; and French fries, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the GSM.

84 comments

  1. Be grateful for every drop of rain you get, guys. The drought here in the desert southwest is years-long. It’s interesting that storms are now being named, our The Weather Channel has been doing this for many years. I suspect that many of the storms that hit the UK have come from the US east coast and the Canada Maritime provinces.

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  3. Like John said, it is crazy how one part of the world is dry as a bone and others, get whipped with crazy summer storms.
    That is too bad. it’s always a heart-tug when a beloved piece is destroyed.

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  6. Oh that’s too bad, Derrick. I was sorry to see your broken wind chime. As you say, most dispiriting. We used to get summer storms all the time, but haven’t had much of them in the last 2 years. I smiled at the picture of the runner – she was probably itching to get out there and grateful for a break in the weather.

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  7. Oh, no! I’m so sorry Jackie’s windchimes were destroyed! We had a really bad storm last night, with several lightning strikes to the west of us.

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  9. Oh the vagaries of Mother Nature… Such a shame. Here in Spain, we still have high temps and much humidity, but luckily – this evening – frisky winds from the Med, which help!

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  11. I’m so sorry about Jackie’s wind chimes, but I’m glad you didn’t have more damage. It sounds like a scary storm. We may have strong storms on Monday.
    The “afterwards” photos are lovely. I like the windshield photo, too. That sounds like a horrible drive to get groceries.

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  13. Hopefully the woven ring can be the base of a new (unbreakable) project. Jackie, I felt your discouragement. So please the storm has lifted and you are all safe.

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  14. It rained here but no gales.
    However, I understand that will change tomorrow, which is unfortunate for me because I am driving Joshua over to Manchester Airport for his flight to Greece. The M62 over the Pennines is notorious for high winds. I’ve done it before and it’s scary! He was to drive himself and paid in advance for his car to be parked at the airport, but today the clutch went on his car!
    We tried the trains but no joy because of cancellations.

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    2. Oh dear. I do hope the trip goes well and Josh doesn’t burn when he gets there

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      1. The gales didn’t arrive and it was dry and sunny, so not a bad journey. I don’t mind motorways at the weekend when there are less trucks to overtake. The M62 is usually chocker. Plenty of speeding cars though.
        Normally, Simon or Victoria would have insisted on taking him, but this weekend everyone was away.

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  16. I am so sorry Jackie’s owl wind chime was destroyed by the gale. You are right, ceramic can only be glued back together so many times. Repair does look hopeless this time.

    I enjoyed seeing the ponies. They look well nourished and fit. The foals are growing up!

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  21. So very sorry! I had read about the gale and hoped you hadn’t been hit too hard. With the sun coming out during the day, it seems as though the gale was fast moving.

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  23. Oh, no! It makes me so sad that the owl wind chime has been destroyed by that gale-y wind. (sad face)
    You know how much I love all of the owls in your garden. ❤️
    I hope Jackie can find another wind chime that will bring the joy…hopefully an owl one.
    (((HUGS)))

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  24. I’m sorry that a prized possession of Jackie’s was destroyed.
    Thankfully the storm did not harm you both!

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  27. Oh no! What a shame!! I’m sorry about the breakage. Glad you both survived the havoc and had a nice dinner. Praying you get some sunshine!

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  29. I am so sorry about the damage done in your garden and especially the wind chime. Poor Jackie! I know that dispirited, tearful, ‘why on earth do I bother’ feeling very well.

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  31. Our lawn is the only thing that appreciates this nonstop wind and rain. I am having trouble adjusting to the totally unpredictable weather patterns.

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