Storm Eowyn.

While Storm Eowyn produced gusts of 114mph in Ireland and 100mph in Scotland we escaped the worst of the wind.

This morning the sea was a mass of churning white waves and foam but due to the shelter of the hills behind beside us there was hardly any wind on land here. No violent swaying of the hedge, just gentle rippling along its length as the wind flipped over the large leaves revealing their much paler undersides. Out at sea a large flock of seagulls swirled around above the waves. It was fascinating to see them riding the gusts of wind. It didn't look like they were fishing, perhaps they were simply enjoying the ride.

Driving down to the stables the wind began to pick up and I gave myself extra time in case there were any obstructions along the way (there weren't) while keeping a wary eye out for swaying trees and flapping power lines. In a few places where it looked like the trees were leaning suspiciously close to power lines I drove past as quickly as possible. My route takes me along the start of the main A road that leads inland across the mountains. I drove past a large lay-by and saw a couple of high sided trucks and a flat bed truck that had extra large panes of glass (shop front sized) standing in the back all waiting there, presumably until the wind died down.

There were six of us in the class this morning and I rode Margaret. One of the girls told me she had been racing around in the field earlier and I found she was a bit more aware of outside noises than usual. The main exercise today was trotting 20m squares with poles set down across the school to ride through. That's something I haven't done before. After the lesson I was leading Margaret out of the arena when the wind caught and knocked over a jump that was stacked up outside which startled Margaret. She swung her body round giving me a good thump in the back and also knocked Bella, the stable's elderly Jack Russell. Bella was fine thank goodness.

Driving to town afterwards I could hear a strange scraping sound which made me think that our poor old car was falling apart. But the noise continued when I pulled up in Morrison's car park and I realised it was the wind whistling in the car's aerial that leans backwards along the roof. Even opening the car door at that point was a struggle. In town it didn't feel so windy in the sheltered main shopping street though gusts blew up from the side streets.

I had to go into Tesco's for frozen blueberries since Morrison's didn't have any and bought myself another winter hat in the sale. It was 50% off and then an extra 10% because I was using my Clubcard. And of course I went into M&S to see if any of the party wear was still there in the sale. The flapper style dresses had all gone but I bought this super sequinned skirt, original price £69 reduced to £16. I bought the largest size I could find and will do my best to convert it into a top for disco aerobics. With the same object in mind I also bought a long sleeved top covered in smaller gold sequins. That was originally £36 and was reduced to £8. I foresee sequins all over the house once I start chopping those two up.

The sea continued to be wild under a gloriously sunny sky for the rest of the afternoon but now it's dark I hear rain falling. 

So that I didn't feel the house cleaning was being neglected I cleaned all the ceramics and objets d'art from the top and sides of the big bookcase in the hall as that is the next area I'll be doing.