We all know that when
the wind speeds get up above about fifty miles per hour that we can
expect damage – and especially to trees.
It is rather unfair to
dig up the past, but those of us who watched the weather forecast on
15 July 1987 will remember a comment from Michael Fish who was
presenting the programme. 'Earlier
on today,' he said, 'a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there
was a hurricane on
the way. Well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't'.
Later that evening we were hit by a violent storm with gusts in
excess of a hundred and twenty miles per hour tearing down power
lines – and toppling trees many of which caused serious structural
damage to buildings as the fell.
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| This is the earliest photograph of the tree that I have in my collection. It was taken by my sister-in-law in March 2004. |
One
odd outcome that followed that storm was that, over the next few
weeks, the emergency services were sometimes overwhelmed by the
accidents to people who, either because a tree was causing them
problems or they decided there were opportunities to make a fast
buck, bought themselves chainsaws to saw up the timber but, lacking
experience, injured themselves – often quite badly.
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| Early April, 2014. |
All
of which brings me to the fact that what one does not expect is for a
tree to fall when there hardly a breath of wind nor a cloud in the
sky. It has happened twice to my knowledge although I did not witness
the actually fall in either case.
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| The last photograph I was to take of the tree, June 2014. |
The
first time was when we lived in Avonwick and a beech tree growing in
the bank beside the lane than ran down the side of the house split in
half, one half remaining upright and the other falling across the
lane, blocking it but causing no injuries. We had had a period of dry
weather and one of the local farmers told us that the rooks had
deserted that tree a couple of years before. 'When rooks desert a
tree,' he said, 'you know it's in trouble and the best thing to do is
to have it down quick as you can.'
Then,
the other day, the same thing happened to a pine here in Dartington.
Again nobody was hurt. Anyway, the pictures tell the story and, as
you can see, the tree is being sawn up. The smaller branches have
been chipped and the chips used to create a soft bank over the steps
leading to the rough area below down which the larger parts of the
tree will be rolled by hand to where heavy lifting equipment can be
brought.
Meanwhile
I have news of another literary festival. This is on a completely
different scale to Ways With Words or any of the other literary
festivals. For a start you can attend the literary events (which take
place during the day) free of charge although it will cost you five
pounds to go along to the village hall and take in a couple of hours
of musical entertainment in the evening.
The
key to this festival (this is its fifth year) is that it ends up in a
village hall. Quote from the website: 'The Charmouth Literary
Festival is very much a village affair and we want you to enjoy a day
of words and music in a relaxed easy manner, having the added
advantage of being located in a beautiful place by the sea. Bring a
picnic lunch if you wish, come with a friend or come alone and enjoy
a literary day with a little night music.' Anyway, since I rather
like the idea of small festivals of this sort, I thought I would tell
you about it.
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| This wire-haired dachshund (a breed both of us love and one we are tempted to try out even though we have said 'no more dogs') answers to the name of Brian - unless, of course, he has other thoughts in his mind in which case . . . |
