Monday 8 February 2016

It's my birthday!

What a day!  Not because the date is my birthday but because of the various amber and red warnings about the weather, due to Storm Imogen.  Am I imagining that storms have been ever more fierce since they were given names? Imogen has caused ferry crossings to be cancelled, trains to be stopped because of fallen trees on the lines due to the high winds, motorists warned to stay away from river crossings, etc., etc. In short, we are being well and truly battered.
In the next village to where I live, water pouring off the soaked Bodmin Moor and fields was pouring down the lane and flooding across the centre of the village; the little shop and some houses had to hurriedly take precautions to hold the water back from their homes.  They also suffered power cuts lasting several hours.
Well, I had to go out; my two young grandchildren had to be at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth for important examinations; this involved driving across the Tamar Bridge, which had red alert warnings to motorists yesterday, so I was rather nervous about how bad it would be, or even if we would be allowed to cross.  On the way, the wind was rocking my car on the more open stretches of road and there was the added hazard of potholes - when they are filled with water, it's a shock when a wheel bangs down into a deep hole.
Ironically, the actual crossing of the bridge was the calmest part of the journey; the 30mph limit ensured that traffic crossed sensibly and safely and the wind was no problem at all.  It was as though the storm was over . . . . .
The return journey was more hairy - the wind was buffeting the high sides of my Berlingo and I was glad to be well on my way home.  Watching the local news at the moment, I consider myself very lucky that I didn't witness the worst that Storm Imogen has been doing. 100mph off-shore winds causing high, foaming waves to crash on the shores and to be blown into coastal villages; lorries crossing Bodmin Moor to be overturned as easily as a child's toy; crashing trees causing havoc on roads and rails.  Phew!
So - my birthday and a few of my presents -




















Anyone would think I like red wine, wouldn't they?

Some close-ups to show more detail -

 A personalised T-shirt (thank you Barry xxx) and a VERY personalised birthday card (thanks again (I think) Barry!)  OMG!!!






















And a gig to look forward to next month.  (Love 'Black Friday').

I also had more flowers, Facebook greetings from family and friends, a very nice lunch out with friends and money gifts. All in all, an eventful birthday.

16 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday and I am sorry you had a treacherous journey to make on today of all days but glad you arrived home safe and sound. xx

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    1. Thank you, Jan. I think if the appointments hadn't been so important I might have pulled out and stayed at home, but it wasn't too bad, really. And worth it to know that the examinations went well.

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  2. Happy Birthday!!! Hope that you had a great day!!! Hope too that all went well with the appointment. xx

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    1. It seemed to go well, thanks - next year each of them will have a scan which will tell us more. Both children are happy and enjoy life.

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  3. Happy Birthday!
    I hadn't realised how bad the storm was up where you are. Down here we have had horrendous winds, but only a spattering of rain.

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    1. Thank you for the birthday wishes, B. It looks as though we will have to get used to this wild weather in the future; I hope we get a fantastic summers to make up for it!

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  4. Happy birthday!! Sorry to hear the weather is so bad where you are. Have a great week x

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    1. Thank you for the birthday wishes, Lucy; despite the weather, it was a pretty good day - and looking to be a good week as well.

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    1. Thank you, Julie. It was a good birthday.

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  6. I hope you had a nice birthday.

    You are a brave lady to drive in a snowstorm. I won't drive anywhere once the flakes start to fall. We had a storm named Jonas last week that dropped 30 inches of the white stuff. The Retired Man had to go to a hospital appointment the next day and we got into a small accident. That will keep me inside till spring. It is snowing again, I don't know it's name.

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    1. I'm not that brave! We didn't have any snow, it was the high winds that were affecting the country, starting with my county of Cornwall, then moving gradually up-country right across the UK. If it snows seriously - I stay at home! I've always got enough food stocks in and even if there are power cuts, I can still cook on my camping stove. Sorry to hear that you were involved in an accident - it leaves you nervous, doesn't it? Have a (((((HUG))))) xx

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  7. Birthday cheers with a glass of red!

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    1. Cheers, Brian! Oh, I did have a glass (or two) of red on my birthday evening - well, it's only polite, innit, when you have 3 bottles to choose from?

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