Storm red

Well that’s the weather warning for out here in the wilder west of Ireland, so I’ve got the logs in and lit the main stove ready while we watch trees cartwheeling through the air outside, or as the media drama queens would have us think.

‘Storm Red’ sounds jolly dramatic though doesn’t it, almost as though it’s primary purpose is to spread fear and dismay. While we were out this morning I also noted that good many of the businesses in LocalTown have actually shut up shop for the day.

Yes, it’s going to get a bit wet and windy, but having lived through some of the regular Winter storms on Vancouver Island BC, I think a few gusts of over 130km/h (80mph) won’t bother us much. Unless one of the local cows gets blown off it’s feet and dropped on the roof. Now wouldn’t that be a hoot? Steaks all round I think.

All that’s really required to sail through one of these events is to hunker down, put the kettle on, and make sure you have enough goodies, candles and firewood in for when the grid goes down.

In hindsight I really should have installed a new UPS so we could have some light, sound and vision when the power outages come, but we have books and enough lighting stuff, so I’m not bothered about that. We have heat, light, shelter and hot water. The Internet can go hang for a while.

At one point Mrs S put RTE on the car radio and we heard some brain dead presenter ask a meteorologist “Is this to do with climate change?” Media code for “Is this something we can scare the ignorant with and generate some clickbaity headlines to boost our ratings?” The meteorologist to his credit demurred, and said no, this was more to do with the jet stream coming further south than usual, but then again this storm won’t be as bad as the one back in 2014, or previously 2001 (I think). Nice to see a proper expert being asked for a change and not some ambitious academic who’s only set foot outside his university to go on holiday or when he needed his grant money topping up.

As the woman blithered on about other dramatic topics I finally asked Mrs S to turn the radio off as it was annoying me. Now we’re home, there’s coffee in hand and the fires are lit.

Well that’s it for the moment. Not much else to say apart from Bojo the Clown trying to appear all butch and decisive (And failing utterly) by trying to put in place some very stupid legislation indeed. See below.