jasey

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening...-woodland.html

"The grand vistas of south-east England were transformed by the worst storm in 200 years. Of 15 million trees felled, 12 million were in forests and three million in parks, estates and along leafy avenues. Losses included six of the eponymous Sevenoaks of Kent, 100 trees at Hampton Court and 700 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as many old friends in gardens around the country."

TelBoy

Jamie why are you comparing 15,000 on one estate with 15,000,000 nationwide?

hodgy0_2

I noticed that, just assumed he does not get out much

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

There was also a fair breeze around a few years later, was it about 91? Not as bad but still did a fair bit of damage.

jasey

That one was much, much worse for me - ended up stranded in Milton Keynes

ScoobyWon't

A roof tile landed on my skateboard, smashing the front wheel assembly clean off.





I was 47 at the time

subaruturbo_18

I was nice and cosy in my mummy's tummy at the time!

IWatkins

1990, Jan 25th. Known as the Burns Day Storm. I was on the roof of the Met Office training college in Reading taking wind readings, 88mph gust while we up there. It was my observers training course and had been in the Met Office for just a couple of months. I got interested in joining after the 87 storm.

That evening a few of us drove into central London for pizza then down to Southampton to one of the guys houses for him to get some more clothes then back to Reading.

I remember it well because it was a) very windy and b) first time I had been in a Pug 205 GTi

douglasb

I was living in West Ealing at the time and working in Central London. On the day of the storm we were due to be audited by IBM to reconfirm our Systems Centre status. I'd set everything up over the previous few days to be sure that everything would be absolutely fine.

The radio alarm was set to wake me up to Chris Tarrant on Capital Radio. I remember him saying something like "If you think the Russians have bombed us overnight, don't worry. It was just a hurricane". I'd slept through everything and didn't know what to expect.

I walked to Northfields station and a train turned up within a couple of minutes. I got off at Green Park so as far as I was concerned nothing was unusual. (I had noticed that a few trees had been blown over though).

When I got to work it seemed that there weren't the usual number of people in the office by 9am (I was in earlier for the IBM gig). I'd expect about 70 people but there were only eight. As the morning went on only about 15 people turned up. It was only then that I realised what had happened.

(The IBM people turned up and we retained our accreditation)

Kwik

iTrader: (10)

I remember waking up hearing my Mum calling my Dad an idiot on his way out of the door for work at 4am. Then I heard his bike start up and head off down the road. 2 minutes later he was back, too many tree's on the road apparently.
The local forest next day was like a war had gone on over night.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

17 at the time so still at school ... slept through it! When I woke though it looked like a bomb had gone off outside

TX.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Impossible to predict the weather, haven't you worked that out yet

TX.

TelBoy

One minute two minutes, one tree two trees? No?

Kwik

iTrader: (10)

Spell check doesn't care.

TelBoy

That's alright then

Kwik

iTrader: (10)

Full stop.

David Lock

Wasn't the second 1990 storm during the day which meant a lot of people, including me, couldn't get back home?

David

Leslie

Well it would say that wouldn't it!

Les