Severe Gale

We've had a battering over the last three days, with winds so strong on Thursday that it was impossible to stand up at the lighthouse, let alone make any horizontal progress – as one local resident discovered when she went for her usual walk there found herself unable to get back to her car. The worst of Thursday's wind were around 11.00am in some places, and around 3.00pm in others, depending on the lie of the surrounding land. The 11.00am gusts brought power lines down back along the peninsula, and we've therefore had no power since. To make matters worse, the water supply failed on Friday afternoon, Scottish Water claiming they now need electricity to work their new-fangled pumps - so we can confidently expect to be waterless every time we lose our electricity. Apparently we are some of the 100,000 homes in western Scotland that lost power; by Saturday morning we were amongst 30,000, with Hydro Electric, our suppliers, saying that most would be back by the end of Saturday. We're not holding our collective breath.

There has been some local damage and a number of near-misses. The worst damage has been to caravans, with losses at Portuairk and Grigadale. Sheds have been destroyed all over the peninsula, glasshouses wrecked, the Community Garden polytunnel ruined, and there are many roofs missing slates and tiles. A porch was destroyed by a falling tree at Ockle, and loose kayaks left along the shore have been blown end-over-end, one, at least, ending up on the sea and disappearing; we nearly lost one of ours, and two have been damaged. Fortunately, the strongest winds did not coincide with a high spring tide as they did some ten years ago in the last 'hurricane' we had, so the road back along the peninsula wasn't cut.

As always, the community has pulled together in the face of adversity. People who live in all-electric houses have faced the worst problems. For many, the only solution is to move in with someone who has a coal fire. In fact, houses with solid fuel burners of any sort come into their own at such times, as both gas and oil-fired systems also need electricity. Many people, well-used to these sorts of problems, have their own small generators, which is how the Diary is hoping to get this post on-line. The Coastguard has been out in support of the nurses, and has ferried carers to the more isolated of our old people.

It's arguable that being without power is less of a problem than being without water. Scottish Water have dropped bottles of water in front of the Ferry Stores, but many people don't have access to these and, in any case, while they are adequate for drinking and cooking, they're little further use beyond some washing up. We're prepared for this in that we have a pipe that brings water down into the garden from a neighbouring burn, used in the occasional drier spells in summer to water the garden, so we can use buckets to flush the toilets.
As Thursday's excitement progressed, the gale moved steadily round from the southwest into the northwest, with the rain turning to sleet and hail; then the winds died out during Thursday afternoon and evening. By Friday morning had a thick covering of hail across the ground, and a dead calm. In the evening it snowed, producing a slushy covering about a centimetre deep which, at this end of the village, melted quickly. More snow is forecast.

The Diary apologises for no Diary entry yesterday.