Monday 1st February 2016 Gales!

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Monday 1st 36-45F, 2-7C, light winds, overcast and raining. 45+mph gales and rain/wintry showers forecast for later today and the next three! The WT Roadlink is on its way according to my newly re-established email service. I have just lost 3 days and 350+ mails despite having IMAP settings. The mail service provider blames me and claims I had Pop3! He almost convinced me until I checked.

The image shows the north side of an exposed and solitary Ash tree. Which goes to show that not all Hollywood legends are false. You can always find north when the sun isn't out by examining the trees. The southerly sides of tree trunks don't show the same lichen growth.

I have been using home computers for years. [Sinclair ZX81/BBCB early adopter and keen programmer] Then moved onto a series of Windup boxes. I even worked with punched cards and sports hall sized mainframes in my first two jobs as a teenager back in the early 60s. Somebody keeps making up new rules without consulting the end user! Why do computers and software keep breaking when they have had so much experience and claim such expertise? Billions wasted every single year, right around the globe, for literally decades, as new government/business/service software projects crash and burn! For the billions wasted they could lower taxes, lower fares, increase benefits and employ more people!

Yet again the promised clearing to brightness has gone the other way. Gales, wintry showers and a grey-brown sky? Do you suppose me a triking hero? Or mere fool? Don't answer that!

Tuesday 2nd 42-43F, 6C, gales, heavy overcast with rain promised and stronger winds to 50mph forecast. Gravely Blighted has sent storm Henry over to rattle our windows. I thought it better to do a 3 mile loop around the village rather than venture into the forest in such winds. Hearing the pitch rise from a roar is a bit worrying when passing under large trees. It's bad enough being hit by a small twig let alone a falling branch!

The mature hedges offered amazing protection. With the wind dropping from my literally leaning onto the wind to hardly a ruffle in my hair had I not been wearing a fleece cap. Mild enough not to need gloves most of the time. Though I did  put on my yellow glasses to avoid windblown debris or the gales making my eyes water. The birds were struggling but showed their usual ability to duck and dive to make forward progress. A heron was doing the most amazing acrobatics to reach its goal. Hurling itself around the sky and even following a hedge for cover. The gusts are far too serious to risk a ride and it hasn't even peaked yet.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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