Well, that was a fun weekend …… not!

My friend has a stand down kit as they are prone to power cuts and flooding. She includes some money hidden in the house as last time they could eventually get into the town as the flood went down all the banks were closed and the cash machines were out of order.
We have special bags for flooding and an escape route pinned to a notice board with window keys on a small nail next to our windows.

In the 70s we all used to have some form of battery powered radio,, we didn’t have a TV growing up so all news came via the radio. I didn’t realise how important this can be in times of emergency. Does anyone remember the calls on the radio for Mr and Mrs so and so believed to be holidaying in such and such to get in touch with local police re a relative who is dangerously ill? Sometime older forms of communication are vital, we possibly rely too much on instant, modern forms today.

It all sounds just awful and I feel lucky living where I do. We get the winds, I live on a hill and we lost the roof once, but nothing compares to having jo heating. We are lucky that we use a wood burner as our main source of heat so at least we can always stay warm

In common with many other posters, I sympathise with all those who have suffered a lengthy Power Cut. We have not been too badly affected, although our power keeps going off for short periods all over the weekend and up to yesterday (there is still time for it to happen today).
I do worry about being in an all electric modern house (No fireplace or chimneys) and we have a small camping stove and a similar small gas fire (the canisters it uses last about an hour). We have had to be without full cooking facilities since last Wednesday, as we are having a new kitchen fitted. We survived on soup, sandwiches and chips (we have an Air Fryer, when we have electricity)! Fortunately, the cooking/washing facilities are connected again now! The only inconvenience is having to re-set the Oven and Hob every time, with the help of the manuals, of course!

Still waiting for power

In the 80s we had a power cut for 7 days and we’re within view of the local coal fired power station with all its lights and chimneys going!
We had one open fire ( gas ) and we boiled a kettle on that.No heat, no light apart from candles ,so I know how awful it is.
I had showers at work and had to take our daughter 15 miles to the in laws for a bath!
Food was a big problem.After that we got a gas cooker and a log burner,but Sod’s law it never happened again!

My sympathies to those who have been without power. It must be (or have been) so utterly miserable.

After one too many boiler failures we bought two calor gas heaters. Wonderful things, fit in the cupboard under the stairs when not needed, have since had new boiler and wood burner fitted.
As I do go camping I keep a box of torches, gas hobs, small gas heaters alongside my stock of candles, I keep several things in my car too e.g. tea lights, nuts and raisins, sealed packs of biscuits, sleeping bag and blankets.
Yes, I was a Girl Guide.

Curry’s have sold out of the more modern version of transistor radios!

It has been bitterly cold @nd we have not had a power cut. However, the gas boiler died on Friday and we had no heating. We have an electric fire in the lounge and a gas hob. The rest of the house has no heating at all. Consequently we have bought a stand by fan heater just for such emergencies. Listening to radio 4 today I realised how unprepared we are for no power. We need a contingency plan for all neighbourhoods so that we can assess and prepare for emergencies.
Boiler now fixed . It required a new fan!

I really feel for people with reliant on only electricity- as most people in flats cannot have gas or fires. We live in the Home Counties but semi rurally and use calor gas for our main background heating. We have had several cold days over the years, when our calor gas has run out completely in a cold snap-we have difficult access in bad weather- but have still had electricity to boil a kettle or fill a hot water bottle and we have wood burners for emergency and top up heat.
It must be really difficult for people without any power or alternative cooking facilities. Modern houses and flats are not designed for long power cuts! Perhaps they should be!

We were without power for a week when the children were young. Spent the nights all snuggled under a duvet and the days driving around to keep warm ( I think the kids still went to school). We ate a huge tub of mint ice cream that was going to melt and to this day I can’t stomach mint ice cream! We’d just disconnected the gas fire, too. I think we had a small calor gas stove. At one point half the village got their power back on and we selfishly rejoiced when it went off again. By the end of the week it was no longer newsworthy and we thought everyone had forgotten about us!

I lived in the south of England when the ‘non’ hurricane hit in 1987. It was a very noisy night and strange to get up to see fallen trees and other damage. It sounds as though storm Arwen caused even more disruption. My sympathies to those still without power etc.

I'm sorry for this situation that you and many others are suffering. The Electricity Companies have taken the easy option in stringing cables across Pylons all over the country, mostly because it is cheaper than laying cables underground where they are much less likely to be affected by weather.

fiorentina51

During the 3 day week in the 70s, we put together an emergency kit of candles, matches, torches and a camping stove. All kept in a designated place. It's stood us in good stead over the years, including one year when we had a power cut on Christmas day!

We did the same thing. I worked in a chemist's shop and my boss rigged up a car headlight running off a battery, so that we could keep operating. (Luckily the till was manual!)

Grantanow

It's a good idea to be prepared - candles, oil lamps + oil, woodburner, Gaz lamps, matches, logs and so on.

We couldn’t use the wood burner: the wind was too severe. Our neighbour did and their house filled with smoke. They had to take the burning logs outside!

I know what you mean Suedonim - SSEN organised a ‘welfare truck’ with hot food/drink but all the information was on social media! I’m sure the council will be holding a ‘lessons learned’ meeting on Teams and communications are one thing I shall be raising. Ninjanana2 were you living here in late 80’s? There was an absolutely horrendous storm then with winds gusting to 120mph at St Fergus. Roof tiles were flying everywhere and neighbour’s shed ended up embedded in someone’s front door!

I think I must be expecting this to happen this winter. Every time I go for groceries, I buy way too much. Maybe I am subconsciously 'prepping'. Christmas 2020, I commented to my brother I wanted to get some candles (box of twelve, not the fancy ones) as I'd heard it mentioned that we would start getting power cuts. He bought me a pack with a wry smile on his face, and I've bought some more. 'Prepping' again I guess.

Just listening to Radio 4 talking about the situation. My heart goes out to you all stuck with no power and without all the other things that need power to function. Hoping it all gets sorted out soon xxx

Takes you back to the good older days whenever no centrally heating one open fire in the living room, ice on the inside of bedroom windows in winter. Hot water bottles in the bed and clothes in the bed to warm them up in the morning. Cold water for ablutions in the morning. Goodness I'm shivering just thinking about my childhood. Hope all the services have been restored and all on way back to normality without mishap.

We had no power from 6pm Friday until yesterday morning at 10 am, not any serious damage just some branches and leaves to clear up. A friend in Stonehaven emailed this morning to say it was like something out of a movie in the square on Friday evening and they have had no power and trees down all over the town and surrounding areas. Nature is a very powerful thing.

I live in flat for elderly, we are only allowed electricity, there is no gas in the building. We are not allowed to have calorgas heaters nor woodburners, so if the electricity failed we'd be in trouble.

I live in North East Scotland and the storm on Thursday/ Fri/ Saturday was the worst that I have ever experienced here. Whilst I was lucky not to have lost power, my garden looks like a war zone! I own a small wooded area next to my property and lost a few trees from there, plus one rather large Spruce landed six foot from my living room window?
I also lost my greenhouse…flattened. However the dogs and I are fine so all’s well ?
I feel for the people in surrounding villages who still, since Friday have no power or water, but communities are rallying round and looking after one another with little help from the authorities.

No one has been deliberately abandoned.The extent of the damage has been unprecedented. It was impossible to send anyone out anywhere until Saturday afternoon and there are trees down everywhere blocking roads.

We were extremely lucky as only had a power cut for a few hours and got the camping gas stove and head torches out. Local Tesco went into meltdown, literally , and still has empty shelves for frozen items or dairy produce.
Managed to retrieve the bins making an escape bid down the drive but luckily stopped by the car in the way , but it totally battered the garden taking flowers off all the fuchsias but weirdly leaving a single pink rose flower.
I do agree we have gone soft as I remember a time in the 1970s when we trekked through deep snow to a friend with a gas cooker carrying our Christmas food with us as roads too treacherous to drive....OK no child then and a lot younger!