Chris recounts the unusual 2024 annual dinner experience

The village hall had been booked for a Chinese take away dinner due to the non-availability of the pub. Friday weather was OK as some of us did our various digging projects. The forecast for Sat was, however, getting increasingly dire and by 10 in the morning there was a howling gale blowing sheets of rain across the field so that even a visit to the shed got you soaked. The waters rose up and surrounded the cottage and we had to find things inside to do; until that is it got to 11.30 when the lights flickered several times and went off. Usually this happens for a couple of hours but they were still off by the time Carl’s group had returned from OFD.

Fortunately the Chinese still had power so our dinner would still be coming, but where to eat it ?

GP was still warm for the stove fire and we lit the hurri lamps and some tea candles. A visit to the hall found it warm but the EMU s had run down so we went over there with head torches had a rather surreal dinner.

No power appeared that night nor in the morning so I dug out the old gas burners and bottle and fixed them up in the rail shed for tea water and the power was still out when we left around midday.