seagurn
Well-known member
Blissed out then!
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26 years since the Great Storm
- Thread starter Jam The Man
- Start date
Theatre of Trees
Well-known member
I walked home in it!
Used to get paid weekly on a Thursday and often went clubbing on that night and did so on that evening. I vividly remember having a conversation with somebody around 10pm on whether to take a jacket out as it was so mild. Went down to what was then Smugglers and had absolutely no inkling anything was happening until chucking out time when the bouncers opened the door and the first thing we saw was two old style metal bins go flying past us up Middle Street. I lived up by Fiveways at the time so walked back with a couple of mates who lived on Ditchling Road, we got to St Peters Church at just about the time as the first trees were coming down. Whilst we were watching a police car pulled up near to us, the policeman got out surveyed the fallen trees, saw another come down, shouted "**** this lets go" to his companion then sped off. By that time me and my mate were starting to get worried and tentatively walked up Ditchling Road in the middle in case any more trees decided to come down. The wind was picking up and all manner of items were being blown up the road. Got home about 3am and noticed in a mirror that all my hair had blown to the right hand side of my head as if I had dried it under a hairdryer. At about 3.30 a hard days work coupled with a skin full of alcohol sent me off to sleep, the last thing I remember being the violent rattling of the windows as the storm reached its peak. Was supposed to be in work at 9am the following day, but my electric radio alarm had been knocked out by the power cut and the first inkling i had that something major had happened was about 11 when I was awoken by a phone call asking why I wasn't in work.
Used to get paid weekly on a Thursday and often went clubbing on that night and did so on that evening. I vividly remember having a conversation with somebody around 10pm on whether to take a jacket out as it was so mild. Went down to what was then Smugglers and had absolutely no inkling anything was happening until chucking out time when the bouncers opened the door and the first thing we saw was two old style metal bins go flying past us up Middle Street. I lived up by Fiveways at the time so walked back with a couple of mates who lived on Ditchling Road, we got to St Peters Church at just about the time as the first trees were coming down. Whilst we were watching a police car pulled up near to us, the policeman got out surveyed the fallen trees, saw another come down, shouted "**** this lets go" to his companion then sped off. By that time me and my mate were starting to get worried and tentatively walked up Ditchling Road in the middle in case any more trees decided to come down. The wind was picking up and all manner of items were being blown up the road. Got home about 3am and noticed in a mirror that all my hair had blown to the right hand side of my head as if I had dried it under a hairdryer. At about 3.30 a hard days work coupled with a skin full of alcohol sent me off to sleep, the last thing I remember being the violent rattling of the windows as the storm reached its peak. Was supposed to be in work at 9am the following day, but my electric radio alarm had been knocked out by the power cut and the first inkling i had that something major had happened was about 11 when I was awoken by a phone call asking why I wasn't in work.
LowKarate
New member
I slept through it like many others.
I remember going to the home game against Preston the next day with their fans singing "What's it like to have no trees?" to which we responded with the over-used 80s retort to northern fans of "what's it like to have no jobs?"
I remember going to the home game against Preston the next day with their fans singing "What's it like to have no trees?" to which we responded with the over-used 80s retort to northern fans of "what's it like to have no jobs?"
The Original
Member
Slept through it then got up at 6.30am to do my paper round as normal. Found it a bit strange having to clamber over downed trees on my short route into Shoreham town centre but carried on regardless. Finally realised the magnitude of events when I reached the newsagents, arriving in total darkness and was informed I must be mad even coming out. My dedication to the 'job' was duly noted however as I was promoted to the role of writing the house numbers on the papers the following week (including a 20p per morning pay rise!)
ExmouthExile
Well-known member
- Feb 11, 2005
- 1,801
That's what remains with me from that night, the noise of smashing glass and tiles everywhere, and the howling wind. I remember standing in my bedsit in Worthing with both my hands against the back wall trying to hold it up, I could feel it buckling in! Walked along Worthing seafront to work the next morning and waves were crashing over the top of the pier and the whole place looked like a warzone!
Lush
Mods' Pet
This. I came home from Manchester to see my mum that evening and remember waiting outside Hove Station thinking how mild it was. There was definitely something strange brewing. Woke up to the sound of the wind blowing at about 3om thinking that I'd forgotten how windy it gets on the south coast. Then the first tiles started clattering off the roof and smashing onto the driveway. Remember the devastation in Hove Park walking to the match on the Saturday.
That evening I drove over Ditching Beacon from Hove and remember coming down it on a river of leaves etc. I had a social evening at a remote farmhouse which eventually was plunged into darkness and the candles were brought out. The evening ended early but was way past midnight and I can recall ringing my wife from a roadside phonebox to see if all was well. Drove through an avenue of trees that were buckling and swaying in the increasingly strong winds. Got home to my place just off the top of Sackville Road and sat up the rest of the night downstairs with wife and eighteen month old son as the roof sounded as if it was lifting off.
Around 6am I drove down Sackville Road and into Blatchington Road that was like a warzone with the emergency services smashed shop windows and alarms going off. Got to my dad's place in The Drive knocking on his flat window. He came to window to see what the fuss was about and had obviously slept through the whole thing.
Later that morning I walked up Neville Road to go to the Co-op superstore. There was an elderly lady sweeping up roof tiles in her driveway and there were more about to come down on top of her. I managed to persuade her to just get inside.
As others have said my memory of the fallen trees in Hove Park was one of my overriding memories that brought a tear to the eye. The kids playground where I took my son was destroyed.
Around 6am I drove down Sackville Road and into Blatchington Road that was like a warzone with the emergency services smashed shop windows and alarms going off. Got to my dad's place in The Drive knocking on his flat window. He came to window to see what the fuss was about and had obviously slept through the whole thing.
Later that morning I walked up Neville Road to go to the Co-op superstore. There was an elderly lady sweeping up roof tiles in her driveway and there were more about to come down on top of her. I managed to persuade her to just get inside.
As others have said my memory of the fallen trees in Hove Park was one of my overriding memories that brought a tear to the eye. The kids playground where I took my son was destroyed.
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Must be 26 years since I saw Bob Dylan with Tom Petty and the heartbreakers as his backing band at Wembley arena then.
I remember being sent home from school on that one. T'was windy.
D
Deleted User X18H
Guest
I cowered in my bedroom at my mums in Hangleton hearing various windows smashing and various trees falling. Never forget the sound of the wind. In the morning my mate and his Dad came and picked me up with his now primitive then hi tech video camera . We drove up to Ditchling. His must have some great footage somehwere . The one thing I remember on the Friday (the day after) it pissed down in almost biblical fashion, never seen rain like it since.
Another mate sadly went to check on his neighbour with his dad in St Keyna Ave and found her dead under her chinmey breast. Very sad.
Another mate sadly went to check on his neighbour with his dad in St Keyna Ave and found her dead under her chinmey breast. Very sad.
That made me giggle. The storm didn't though. I woke about 4am to hear dustbins rolling down the road and tiles clattering off the roof. Woke Hovaboy to tell him there was a hurricane going on outside. He thought I was exaggerating and went back to sleep. Hove Park was a sorry sight. Huge, century-old trees blown down like twigs. The side of one house had disappeared into the attic of the semi next door on Old Shoreham Road and the side of another house had been demolished just up from Cottesmore school.
This lady lived behind our house. I was only 4 or 5 at the time so only came to learn of what actually happened to her a few years later as my parents kept it from me. Very sad.
Remember being asleep in our loft converted room on the third floor at the time - fast asleep! First I knew was when I woke the next morning to find a small boat was wrapped around a lamppost opposite our house, having blown up from the beach/basin by the lagoon. Took my dad a while to explain that one to me.
supaseagull
Well-known member
I remember working for Eagle Star in those days in the claims team. We just paid everything...took ages to recover from both the 1990 and 87 storms. In fact the company probably didn't as they don't even exist now!
BUTTERBALL
East Stand Brighton Boyz
Remember it well. Can recall treading my way throught the debris on London Road getting to work in North Road, absolute carnage.
D
Deleted User X18H
Guest
Now part of Zurich Of course. I remember working on some of Eagle Star's higher R/I up until about 2005 $10xs$10 layer.Cat 87J I think it was.
Since1982
Well-known member
We lived in a flat in Burgess Hill at the time and the roof tiles were coming off and through the windows. Unable to sleep with all the noise I tuned an old FM radio to the higher frequencies where you used to be able to hear emergency service radio traffic - and just listened to report after report of damage, people trapped etc. As dawn broke I heard the first chainsaw and that sound seemed to be ever present for weeks afterwards. In the morning I stood on the bridge over the railway at B Hill and looking northwards the track was barely visible with the trees and debris on it.
The storm a couple of years later was bad as well. The roof of the shops and flats next to B Hill station was ripped off and flew across the road into the shops opposite. Even now you can see where the top part of that building was rebuilt.
The storm a couple of years later was bad as well. The roof of the shops and flats next to B Hill station was ripped off and flew across the road into the shops opposite. Even now you can see where the top part of that building was rebuilt.
I was a ten year old, we'd recently moved from London to Sevenoaks. I remember coming downstairs in the dark after being woken by tiles being stripped off the roof and tree after tree coming down.
Sevenoaks lost six of their oak trees at The Vine that night.
If I remember correctly, Gordon Kaye who played Rene in 'Allo 'Allo was driving and a branch came through his windscreen & so in later episodes he had a hefty scar on his forehead.
Sevenoaks lost six of their oak trees at The Vine that night.
If I remember correctly, Gordon Kaye who played Rene in 'Allo 'Allo was driving and a branch came through his windscreen & so in later episodes he had a hefty scar on his forehead.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
A couple of weeks before the storm, I'd bought myself a chainsaw. The mistake I made was to buy an ELECTRIC chainsaw. We were without power for a week, with trees down all around us. Some of the fallen wood stills survives, still rotting away, 26 years later, in the strip of ancient (and largely unmanaged) woodland on the opposite side of our road.
daveinprague
New member
i made it
I meant from the NOC.. ..
Was only myself, and the Telecom VP (Andy)... we started checking through our network expecting the worse, and everything, was pretty much ok, remarkably. People started drifting in from about 11 with tales of epic journeys, and lost garden sheds, roof, mashed up cars, missing bikes, animals......I literally had to climb through the Old Steine... was an amazing sight