where did that come from?

I remember the weather man saying something about North winds.. and cold.. but no mention of the word ‘gale’, and yet last night it was very blustery - the suddenly blasts causing very localised damage.  The wind was coming from the west, and whistling between the nearby buildings, taking a hold of the roof of our outbuildings, and peeling back the corrugated iron like a sardine tin. Taking the massive joists with it! No small shed either, some 12′x30′ of roof lifted and set down again in the wrong place!

We could hear the whole roof of the sheds lifting and banging down last night. Himself went out at about 3 am and threw a rope over the top and tied it down - probably just as well as we would have had to retrieve it from up the street! The wind ripped the latch off our big gates, and the rose arch was in pieces by morning. But the oddest thing is what was left unscathed.. the greenhouse was fine, the massive leylandii next door, still upright, next door’s slates which are now balanced precariously on the gutter still hanging there threateningly, it was calm where the sheep were.. even the coffee cups we had left on the picnic table were still there!

It must be the way the wind was channeled by the buildings, that intensified the gusts? Who knows, but once again our plans were ‘blown away’ and today was spent trying to get the roof back into place.

With the use of our trusty pot jack, we were able to jack the joists up, remove the fallen rocks from the wall, which took a fair bashing, and with a lot of hammering thumping, pulling on ropes etc, the roof is back where it should be. Unfortunately, we are not sure how to stop this happening again.. the building is 400+ years old, and trying to fix to crumbling stone and lime walls is nigh on impossible. We shall have to think of something. Meantime the roof is roped down…