Sitting at my desk the
view today is of the trees at the edge of our garden being tosses
about furiously by a very boisterous wind, our lovely delicate silver
birch is bending alarmingly but even more alarming is the movement of
the massive cypress which appears to be moving in several directions
at once.
Even through the double
glazing it's tortured creaks and groans are plainly audible and the
lawn is littered with small pieces of the tips of it's branches.
It is also perishingly
cold and we have had a few snow flurries here in the valley, the
hills around us are white over and it looks distinctly like there is
more snow on the way.
Great clouds are
scudding rapidly along against a blue sky , then in a moment the sky
becomes black as ink and dispenses hail, snow and freezing rain by
turns. This is not a good day to be out of doors!
Unfortunately I was
obliged to do so as I had an appointment at my Doctors surgery this
morning, and a damned unpleasant journey I had of it, buffeted by
great gusts of wind by the time I reached the top of the hill my face
was frozen.
A high sided wagon came
clipping along the road and as it breasted the brow of the hill a
huge gust of wind caught at the tarpaulin which covered it's cargo.
The wagon lurched across the road heading in my direction and I swear
that my life flashed before my eyes in that brief moment.
The flapping tarpaulin
must have caught at the tail gate fixings as all at once the road was showered with dozens of very large turnips which rolled about causing
mayhem as car after car swerved to avoid them.
One large turnip
bounced between the wheels of two cars like a football being passed
between two players and had I not been in peril of my life I might
have found it more amusing at the time, now of course I feel able to
have a quiet chuckle, remembering how that turnip rolled about the
road.
The driver of the wagon
recovered from his panic attack and alighted from the cab of his
vehicle to make the tarpaulin secure again, unable to move as my way
forward was blocked by turnips and a tail back of cars I watched as
he struggled against the force of the wind as he grappled with the
fixings.
The tarpaulin billowed
like the sail of a ship and the man was hard pressed to keep his feet
on the ground, but at last he managed to make all secure and to the
accompaniment of a dozen hooting car horns he drove off, his load
considerably lighter than before.
The commotion had been noticed and by this time quite a crown of people had gathered, some
had disappeared for a moment to return with a bag or a basket into
which they proceeded to load the errant turnips and I wondered how
many households would be served with turnip mash or stew at dinner.
Soon all but a few
badly damaged specimens had been spirited away and with the road
clear and the traffic back to normal I made my way home, at last.
As a consequence of my
long sojourn at the top of the hill in the teeth of a freezing cold
wind I was quite unable to get warm and in spite of several layers of
warm clothing, a huge roaring log fire and the central heating at
full blast it was several hours before I stopped shivering long
enough to cook dinner.
During that time I
drank a considerable amount of Scotch, the first to settle my nerves,
the second to warm me up a little and the third because I was
enjoying it. In spite of being ever so slightly squiffy dinner passed
of without incident, I used a pork fillet to make pork Wellington
which I served with jacket potatoes and salad,I could have just made
a stew I suppose but I am invariably more creative after a few
drinks.
In any event the boys
loved it, which is all that matters.
So now after a hot
shower and a cup of hot chocolate my hot water bottle awaits and I
shall not keep it waiting any longer. Goodnight All.
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