Saturday 27th November 2021 - Storm Arwen and What Can You Do?

We are in the grips of Storm Arwen. (In case you wondered, the name Arwen appears in the works of J R R Tolkien and means ‘noble maiden’ in Sindarin, which is the language of the elves in Middle earth.) The winds have gradually built during today but with pretty well everything moveable by a strong northerly relocated to safety we should, fingers crossed, come through this with little or no damage – I hope saying this is not ‘famous last words’. The heavy rain showers have been beating against our sea facing windows and for the first time since the end of last winter, we have pulled the curtains this evening to keep in the warmth. This morning, before the storm built, we took a walk along the prom with Barney who was in good spirits and trotted along at a reasonable pace. Even though it was blustery and grey there was still beauty, as can be seen in today’s photo, in the scene from the top of the zigzag path. Apart from a walk to the Post Office later in the morning, we have not ventured out again.

So, what can you do when the weather is inhospitable? Well as for me, yesterday, after a morning of doodling around doing bits and pieces, I tackled one of the jobs on my winter ‘to do’ list – cleaning the kitchen cupboards. This is when I find the odd pack of this, or jar of that, which has gone past its use by date and I’m faced with the question of whether to return it, not for the first time, to the now clean cupboard or bin it. Nine times out of ten, I choose the former, after all if it isn’t rank or likely to cause food poisoning if eaten, why chuck it? My grandmothers never had use by dates printed on packaging and they or their families never came to harm, so in one way I am preserving an old way of life! Today, I opted for updating some paperwork. I have not quite finished as I diverted onto presents for our grandsons and WhatsApping our family about planning a celebration (Covid allowing) next year. Still there’s always tomorrow when I can finish off that paperwork. That’s about it, not an exciting couple of days but at least I haven’t got bored.