When I said yesterday that I couldn't describe the ferocity of the storms we had experienced I should have tried because last night and the early hours of this morning it was even worse! - but more of that later.
When I left the blog last night we were just settling down to do all those texts and emails and Skype's that New Year's Eve demands and we decided to do them early just in case the networks got jammed. We also did them early because we weren't convinced that we would make it to Midnight and in the event we didn't - falling short by about 15 minutes but struggling to keep our eyes open by then so what was the point?
Anyway going back to Skype we were sent a contact request from our friend Darren (of Marie and Darren fame). We have not seen Darren for years and unfortunately when I went to visit Marie in 2010 he was away because his debit card had been involved in some sort of scam. Seeing him online we 'sniped' him (as Trev would say) and expected to see him sitting in their house in Scotland but unbelievably he was sitting in a house in Trinidad!!! He currently works in Trinidad on a sort of four week on four week off basis teaching the locals all about search and rescue and Marie was flying out to join him for a holiday today. It was fantastic to be able to see him and hear him and the quality of the Skype call all that distance was unbelievably good. Now I know when I look at my blog stats who the viewer in Trinidad and Tobago is. Spookily they have friends with a property at the Latchi Panorama so maybe we will get to see them out here one day. Anyway I make no apology for publishing some old photographs I found of us enjoying good times some 20-odd years ago and looking at the photograph above and seeing you yesterday Darren you need a haircut mate!!
So back to the weather then - well, for most of yesterday and well into the night we had the most torrential rain, thunder and lightening together with the explosion of fireworks at 12.00 and a power cut some time in the morning. The noise of the rain was so loud that it woke me and I had to get up just to take a look - John slept through but then nothing wakes him!!
On the left is the scene outside the backdoor looking into the field where there is now, what we like to call, the Great Lake of Droushia. Don't know where the water used to go when it was a vineyard but it certainly doesn't go anywhere now!
Our front garden was awash as the water butt had overflowed and the rain had cascaded off of the new pergola roof into that area.
We are going to have to try and do something about that in the future but with no drains to direct the water into that is going to be difficult. Just one more thing that will need John's attention in the future!!
We were having Mum and Dad up for a New Year's Day meal so John decided to go out with an umbrella to wait for them to arrive and give them some shelter as they walked up the path - he chose the very moment that the first of our many hailstorms of the day started to lash down!!
We did manage to go out at one point when it was dry and pick the New Year Lemon - our first from our tree (which is just about still standing). This was sacrificed for the New Year Gin and Tonic which John and Dad had as a pre-meal snifter!
Dad and I have been crowned the 2012 Cribbage champs after beating Mum and John 3-2 today.
We all enjoyed a very leisurely meal and one or two episodes more of Doc Martin before Mum and Dad braved the elements once more to travel back down to Emba. It sounds like they had a good New Year's party last night and the dirty stop outs didn't go to bed until way past Midnight!
When I left the blog last night we were just settling down to do all those texts and emails and Skype's that New Year's Eve demands and we decided to do them early just in case the networks got jammed. We also did them early because we weren't convinced that we would make it to Midnight and in the event we didn't - falling short by about 15 minutes but struggling to keep our eyes open by then so what was the point?
Anyway going back to Skype we were sent a contact request from our friend Darren (of Marie and Darren fame). We have not seen Darren for years and unfortunately when I went to visit Marie in 2010 he was away because his debit card had been involved in some sort of scam. Seeing him online we 'sniped' him (as Trev would say) and expected to see him sitting in their house in Scotland but unbelievably he was sitting in a house in Trinidad!!! He currently works in Trinidad on a sort of four week on four week off basis teaching the locals all about search and rescue and Marie was flying out to join him for a holiday today. It was fantastic to be able to see him and hear him and the quality of the Skype call all that distance was unbelievably good. Now I know when I look at my blog stats who the viewer in Trinidad and Tobago is. Spookily they have friends with a property at the Latchi Panorama so maybe we will get to see them out here one day. Anyway I make no apology for publishing some old photographs I found of us enjoying good times some 20-odd years ago and looking at the photograph above and seeing you yesterday Darren you need a haircut mate!!
So back to the weather then - well, for most of yesterday and well into the night we had the most torrential rain, thunder and lightening together with the explosion of fireworks at 12.00 and a power cut some time in the morning. The noise of the rain was so loud that it woke me and I had to get up just to take a look - John slept through but then nothing wakes him!!
On the left is the scene outside the backdoor looking into the field where there is now, what we like to call, the Great Lake of Droushia. Don't know where the water used to go when it was a vineyard but it certainly doesn't go anywhere now!Our front garden was awash as the water butt had overflowed and the rain had cascaded off of the new pergola roof into that area.
We are going to have to try and do something about that in the future but with no drains to direct the water into that is going to be difficult. Just one more thing that will need John's attention in the future!!
We were having Mum and Dad up for a New Year's Day meal so John decided to go out with an umbrella to wait for them to arrive and give them some shelter as they walked up the path - he chose the very moment that the first of our many hailstorms of the day started to lash down!!
We did manage to go out at one point when it was dry and pick the New Year Lemon - our first from our tree (which is just about still standing). This was sacrificed for the New Year Gin and Tonic which John and Dad had as a pre-meal snifter!Dad and I have been crowned the 2012 Cribbage champs after beating Mum and John 3-2 today.
We all enjoyed a very leisurely meal and one or two episodes more of Doc Martin before Mum and Dad braved the elements once more to travel back down to Emba. It sounds like they had a good New Year's party last night and the dirty stop outs didn't go to bed until way past Midnight!
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