Tuesday 8 December 2015

Looking for joy :: DPP Ahoy There!

We have been living with a power outage since late Saturday night.  When storm Desmond struck the constant unremitting rainfall wreaked havoc across the North West of the country.  Thankfully we were spared our home being flooded but the electrical substation near the city centre was badly hit and the city was on a complete blackout from Saturday evening until this morning.  The city has been running on generators shipped over from Ireland and other parts of the UK. 

So thankful that we had the caravan parked right outside our kitchen door.  It was the first time ever that the gas oven had ever been used :-)  Our martinmas lanterns and tea lights were pressed into action and with the addition of LED torches and a battery operated radio, we have been doing OK.  We even managed to go ahead with a planned shared meal with some friends and when Shalom prayers was cancelled last night, a few of us gathered in a friend's house instead :-)  I have kept up with the daily photograph's so here they are in order:

DPP Day Five ~ Chifting

Also known as charity shop gifting!  It was Pip's turn to have a one on one treat with me on Saturday morning.  She bought a present each for Dave and Benedict, including wrapping paper from a local charity shop and we finished our treat with a hot chocolate.




    
DPP Day Six ~ St Nicholas Day

I cooked a mini roast meal of chicken, potatoes, greens, carrot and swede and mashed potato in the caravan alongside our yearly Speculatius biscuits.  The Tomten were very bold this year and settled in at the bottom of my bed ... I think the power cut phased them and they forgot to camp out in front of the wood burner as in previous years :-)



 The Tomten left gold coins, their yearly letter and some cosy fleece blankets, which were very useful given the power outage!


 Veggies on the stove top ...


 ... and chicken in the oven.


 Pip making the biscuits.

Our friends arrived in time for tea and in addition to their companionship they also brought a delicious bottle of mulled wine, which went well with the spiced biscuits.

DPP Day Seven ~ A Home Day

All schools were closed and the two bridges both in and out of the city were impassable.  It was a day spent huddled around a gas fire and listening to regular updates from our local radio station.  The team did an awesome job keeping everyone informed, some of the crew had been working over thirty hours straight by the end of Sunday evening!  The two downstairs studios were flooded and the presenters stranded, so local folk including the two inns nearby kept them well supplied with food and beverages.  Electricity North West have also supplied food vans dotted around the locales and our main sports centre opened its doors for emergency accommodation, warmth, food and showers. 



  Lovely flowers bought by a friend over a fortnight ago and still going strong.



DPP Day Eight ~ Cartmel

Since Pip's school is still closed we met with Sara and Tom and had a lovely day in a village near to them.  There was a cold wind blowing but the sunshine and blue skies were much appreciated:



 Ben fell in love with the church cat, that is known, loved and fed by everyone in the village!


   Cartmel Priory

We had a lovely lunch in "The Mallard" cafe followed by a wander around some of the shops.  We tasted an amazing sherry that was truly, Christmas in a glass and bought a bottle to share over the festive period :-)  I am not normally keen on alcohol, but even I have to admit that it was gorgeous! 

We have another "no school" day for Pip tomorrow, so an outing is planned for the afternoon, weather permitting :-)

Advent Blessings x  

12 comments:

elli said...

Gracious! What an adventure! I am so glad you all were able to weather it as well as you did! I had heard about the flooding, but had not heard any personal stories til now. {{hugs}} and prayers!

Hayley said...

So relieved for you, that you avoided being flooded. It must be devastating for those affected. Amazing how it brings out the community spirit in people though.

On a more cheerful note, you have certainly made the most of the last couple of days. The Tomten are very sensible bringing cozy fleece blankets!

We went to Cartmel, a couple of years ago for a short holiday and thought it was a beautiful place. I keep saying I would love to go back again x

sustainablemum said...

It sounds like you have had an interesting few days! Glad your power is back on now :).

Sandra Ann said...

Yes it is definitely worth another visit :-) If you do ever manage it let me know and I would meet you for a coffee :-)

Sandra Ann said...

Yeah, we don't do normal at this end do we?!!! hugs to you and A xx

Sandra Ann said...

Thanks for your hugs and prayers they are always appreciated x

Eva said...

Is the power back on? Does your gas stove work without electricity? When we have a power outage, the gas stove and furnace do not work because they need electricity to go on. You did a great job under those circumstances. I had not even heard of Desmond. I guess the news did not reach this continent. I like that church. So OLD! I do miss old things here. 100 years is old in this country, but to me that is not really old.

Sandra Ann said...

Yes, power on but still running from one of the many local temporary generators as well as the main grid. Our caravan stove runs using a propane cylinder and the lighting ran from the caravan's battery. So I could see to cook in the caravan :-)

The flood secession is widespread across the north of Lancashire and in to Cumbria. Town centre businesses and homes were the worst hit. We live on higher ground on the outskirts so were spared water damage x

Addendum from Dave: - Cartmel Priory (http://www.cartmelpriory.org.uk) was an Augustinian Priory founded in 1190AD, barely 120 years after the Norman Invasion, then dissolved in 1537. It now Church of England and thankfully it did not fall into the state of ruin that many monastic buildings suffered in this country.

dorinalouise said...

Wow! So much has been happening by you! I am impressed with your cooking abilities in the Caravan! I'm going to look up Desmond. There must be something about him in our papers. The church is just beautiful and I agree with Eva about loving old things and the cities and towns are so young here!

Hayley said...

Thanks San, would love that :)

Eva said...

Thanks Dave about the information. That is very interesting.

Eva said...

It is so nice to see that they are still trying to have events at the church.