Drove to work at Lambeth from Bexleyheath at 05.30, felt sorry for the feckers ringing me from Bexleyheath saying they couldnt get in, dodging downed trees on The Old Kent Rd on the way in.
My first thought seeing all the damage on the day after was about the blitz .. if Londoners could cope with that, this was nothing to get too worried about
My mum used to work at bexley mental and started at 7am, she rang us up and told us not to bother going to work (my first year at work too) as there were no trains. back to bed then me and all my pals met up about 2pm and went on a tremendous all dayer... ended up in the Drayman as some well known DJ was down there - robbie something or other cant remember his name now.
Was recovered (just) by the monday and got a bollocking for not ringing in to say i wont be in!
I started work at 5am in Kent, when driving to work noticed bins and other objects flying around, did not realise how bad until my work mates came in late after me and told me a tree had blown over on the road we use, must have missed me by a couple of minutes at most. When it is not your time, keep enjoying life, even if a Charlton supporter
If this had happened last night this post would be filled with photos taken on mobile phones! Does anyone have any photos taken in the aftermath of this storm?
If this had happened last night this post would be filled with photos taken on mobile phones! Does anyone have any photos taken in the aftermath of this storm?
I was living in Woodside near Croydon at the time. I had been at a rockabilly club in Camden on Thursday night, and the DJ/promoter of the club, who was/is a good mate was giving me a lift home. We drove under the railway bridge on Croydon Road and a stack of three milk crates blew across the street in front of us like they were on castors. I said to my "It's a bit blowy tonight". I got home and fell into the sleep of the drunk.
I woke at about six and found the power off. The wind was still blowing hard. I think I tuned into the radio and found out what had occurred. The problem was that I was running a bus down to a rock n roll weekender in Weymouth that morning, and my mate who owned it was in Ramsgate. The phone was only working intermittently, but I managed to get through to him and he said he had tried to get the bus out, but the police turned him back. I then had the problem of letting people know it wasn't going to happen. The phone line went down, then came back again. I managed to get hold of a mate in north London and she said she would go to Charing Cross and let anyone who turned up know about the problem, and tell them I would refund their deposits as soon as I saw them. I also managed to get hold of a couple of mates in south London and let them know too. Then I contacted the bloke who had driven me home the night before and he said that they were still going down to Weymouth and he had room in his mate's van. So I walked to Penge and managed to get to the weekender. Everyone made it in the end, and I gave them all their deposits back. Trouble was that the profit I was going to make on the bus was my spending money for the weekend, but luckily I was able to borrow enough to have a good time anyway.
Another mate had gone to the campsite the night before and had been woken by the organisers in the middle of the night and told to come down to the hall where they had temporary beds set up as they were worried the caravans would blow away. As it happened only two actually came a cropper...
I was in the USA on holiday at the time with a fellow addick when my cousin told us on the Monday, 3 day before it struck that a hurricane was heading towards the UK. We dismissed it and we're amazed to see the TV footage at Logan airport on the Friday, and we're even more surprised to hear about Michael Fish from the cab driver picking us up from the airport. We were dodging fallen trees as he took us straight to Sellout park for the home game against Derby.
Did'nt know anything about the Michael Fish thing. I went to bed normal time, and got woken around 3am by some odd noises. I opened the bedroom window (the wind/rain had covered it with mud and leaves) and the garden outside looked as if the trees had gone mad. Went back to bed, and woke again at 7am, with no lights, no tea, and tres down everywhere. Must have been one of the biggest things to ever happen in Erith and I slept through most of it. I remember going up to Belevedere with a couple of mates for a kick about, as none of us could get in to London to work. Happy days!
If this had happened last night this post would be filled with photos taken on mobile phones! Does anyone have any photos taken in the aftermath of this storm?
Lived in Gravesend at the time and worked in Selhurst (British Rail). Got down to Gravesend station...would have been around 6am...no trains so back to bed.
I was working in The City - still am same job and back at the same company now.
Woke up and wondered why my clock radio hadn't gone off. There had been a powercut in the night and so it had reset.
Decided to drive to work, Blackheath was wild; fallen trees everywhere. I remember my old Vauxhall Cavalier wobbling form side to side as I went over London Bridge.
Got into work and was treated as a hero, one of only a handful who got in. The boss paid my car park fee and we all went home again as the BOE declared it a Bank Holiday for trading purposes.
30 years on now and my recollections are almost 100% in line with Chirpy's.
Remember me mum moaning about the vandals as we walked through Hickin and Gallon Close and then the alley (opposite club shop as it is now), she was walking me to me mates gaff, the painted house on Floyd Road, she was then going on to Charlton Station and I walked to Fosdene School with me mate, when we got to school the playground was full of roof tiles. There weren't many of us turned up and we all got sent home.
Lived on the Ferrier Estate at the time, 11th floor, but slept through the lot, remember playing snooker with the then girlfriends dad & uncle at the old metro gas social club at blackwall lane on the night, them dropping me off by the Dover patrol pub, no sign or memory of anything particularly wrong weather wise. Woke up to discover the devastation, worked in lewisham at the time and got a lift in across blackheath common, quite a mess.
Edit: just realised I posted the same way back on this thread, apologies, feel free to delete admin
I seem to remember walking down to Brampton to go to school that morning but of course was closed
Roof tiles flying around all over the place... My parents live next to an alleyway and remember going out to see our wall leaning dangerously into the alley - Didnt take long to come down either
The night before, was the first time I ever took my wife out (anyone remember that little wine bar down by Eltham Church?). I drove home that night and slept through the storm. Got married a year later on my birthday (very handy for remembering your Anniversary!) and we've been married 21 years today!
I was living in Walderslade then, anyone with a chainsaw earnt a fortune from the council that day.
Can't be bothered to check back to see if I am repeating myself so here goes...
Was working a night shift that night in an office building close to the Tower of London. Vividly remember me and Mick the security guard sitting on the 4th floor looking out of the windows as various bits of signage and all sorts whizzed past the windows at great speed. Coming home the following morning I had to meander my way to Bexleyheath past trees, various bits of debris, mostly roofing felt. When I did eventually get in doors, the newly installed garden fence I had rather unprofessionally put up two weeks before was "stacked" in a garden three doors down. One to remember.
Can't be bothered to check back to see if I am repeating myself so here goes...
Was working a night shift that night in an office building close to the Tower of London. Vividly remember me and Mick the security guard sitting on the 4th floor looking out of the windows as various bits of signage and all sorts whizzed past the windows at great speed. Coming home the following morning I had to meander my way to Bexleyheath past trees, various bits of debris, mostly roofing felt. When I did eventually get in doors, the newly installed garden fence I had rather unprofessionally put up two weeks before was "stacked" in a garden three doors down. One to remember.
Was working a night shift in a office building by Tower Hill that night. Just me and the security guard looking out in amazement at all sorts of shite flying past the window, The drive home in the morning was particularly tricky, I failed to get up Blackheath Hill because the roofs of the old flats (no longer there) were in the middle of the road. Certainly sticks in my memory. The weekend before I had badly put up a new middle fence down my garden and the storm had literally lifted the panels out of the grooves in the posts and deposited them three gardens down.
I do like the way the story is developing Soapy, We've got to know Mick now, but I want to know more about him. And did you ever put up that fence again? Look forward to the update in 5 years if I make it.
I was living in Kidbrooke and working in London as a mini cab driver (sorry Ledge) on the night of the storm. Before the winds reached their peak there was a torrential rain storm. It was so heavy I had to pull over because the wipers couldn't cope with the volume of water.
Finished my shift at about 2 in the morning and went home. The wind was really beginning to pick up but it was a warm wind, not what I'd expected. Got indoors and sat down in from of the TV to watch a video and after a while the power went off. That's when I realised bad things were getting. Roof tiles were beginning to be torn from the roof and were flying like missiles into the houses in the terrace behind ours. We lived facing an open playing field so the wind had nothing to lessen it's force.
Went to sleep eventually but still remember the sight the next morning.
Two houses close to ours had most of their roof blown off. The houses in terrace behind ours ware showing the scars of roofing tiles that had slammed into them. Fortunately there was little damage to our house.
A few days later we had friends down from Scotland. They thought that the reports of the storm has been grossly exagerated, he said 'Southerners think every puff of wind is a storm'. We went for a trip throught the kent countryside to show what had happened. It seemed as if a gigantic hand had brushed it's way through the woods and forests flattening everthin in it's path.
Can't be bothered to check back to see if I am repeating myself so here goes...
Was working a night shift that night in an office building close to the Tower of London. Vividly remember me and Mick the security guard sitting on the 4th floor looking out of the windows as various bits of signage and all sorts whizzed past the windows at great speed. Coming home the following morning I had to meander my way to Bexleyheath past trees, various bits of debris, mostly roofing felt. When I did eventually get in doors, the newly installed garden fence I had rather unprofessionally put up two weeks before was "stacked" in a garden three doors down. One to remember.
Was working a night shift in a office building by Tower Hill that night. Just me and the security guard looking out in amazement at all sorts of shite flying past the window, The drive home in the morning was particularly tricky, I failed to get up Blackheath Hill because the roofs of the old flats (no longer there) were in the middle of the road. Certainly sticks in my memory. The weekend before I had badly put up a new middle fence down my garden and the storm had literally lifted the panels out of the grooves in the posts and deposited them three gardens down.
I do like the way the story is developing Soapy, We've got to know Mick now, but I want to know more about him. And did you ever put up that fence again? Look forward to the update in 5 years if I make it.
Not sure if I posted before, but on my way to work at 5am, after turning down a small road that leads to my firm, a tree which was one of many that lined the road, crashed down behind me. Luckily, or unluckily for me, I was the only one that got to work on time as the rest of the early staff had to wait until the road was cleared
Comments
28 years ago. Blimey
Does anyone have any photos taken in the aftermath of this storm?
This site shows a few around the Laing Estate near Shooter's Hill
EDIT: Click on history and then the Great Storm of 1987. Cannot seem to link directly I'm afraid.
I woke at about six and found the power off. The wind was still blowing hard. I think I tuned into the radio and found out what had occurred. The problem was that I was running a bus down to a rock n roll weekender in Weymouth that morning, and my mate who owned it was in Ramsgate. The phone was only working intermittently, but I managed to get through to him and he said he had tried to get the bus out, but the police turned him back. I then had the problem of letting people know it wasn't going to happen. The phone line went down, then came back again. I managed to get hold of a mate in north London and she said she would go to Charing Cross and let anyone who turned up know about the problem, and tell them I would refund their deposits as soon as I saw them. I also managed to get hold of a couple of mates in south London and let them know too. Then I contacted the bloke who had driven me home the night before and he said that they were still going down to Weymouth and he had room in his mate's van. So I walked to Penge and managed to get to the weekender. Everyone made it in the end, and I gave them all their deposits back. Trouble was that the profit I was going to make on the bus was my spending money for the weekend, but luckily I was able to borrow enough to have a good time anyway.
Another mate had gone to the campsite the night before and had been woken by the organisers in the middle of the night and told to come down to the hall where they had temporary beds set up as they were worried the caravans would blow away. As it happened only two actually came a cropper...
Woke up to discover the devastation, worked in lewisham at the time and got a lift in across blackheath common, quite a mess.
Edit: just realised I posted the same way back on this thread, apologies, feel free to delete admin
Roof tiles flying around all over the place... My parents live next to an alleyway and remember going out to see our wall leaning dangerously into the alley - Didnt take long to come down either
29 years yesterday, poor girl!
Was working a night shift that night in an office building close to the Tower of London. Vividly remember me and Mick the security guard sitting on the 4th floor looking out of the windows as various bits of signage and all sorts whizzed past the windows at great speed. Coming home the following morning I had to meander my way to Bexleyheath past trees, various bits of debris, mostly roofing felt. When I did eventually get in doors, the newly installed garden fence I had rather unprofessionally put up two weeks before was "stacked" in a garden three doors down. One to remember.
Happy 30th son.