Tuesday 3 January 2012
January 4, 2012
The studio/office is hit by a fairly substantial tree 
WE”RE WOKEN early by the wind…sounds pretty scary outside. Then the power goes off. I fall back to sleep hoping everything will be OK and back to normal when we get up. It isn’t.
Apart from no electricity, there’s a big fuck-off tree blown over and lying across the office/studio roof and another even bigger one looking a bit precarious. Our gate is lying a few metres away, another big plant pot smashed and fuck knows what else damaged.
I go and investigate the office/studio situation in the pouring rain while Maiju and Juuso go down to the pub – which has it’s own generators for time like this – to get some coffees for breakfast.
I have a chat with our near neighbour who’s suffered a bit from the fallen trees and he seems prepared to bring round his digger, chainsaws and other stuff to help clear the fallen trees. Until we do so we won’t know the real extent of any damage. I call the insurance company helpline to make sure we’re not voiding any potential claim by clearing the trees ourselves – they say it’ll be OK to move them.
The fallen trees are actually on National Park land so I can’t help wondering if the responsibility for clearing and any subsequent liability for any damage might lie with the Park Authority. I call them but, of course, there’s no response – they’re on friggin’ holiday!
Juuso is keen to fix our gate so we get some tools together and spend 1/2-hour in the horizontal rain getting it fixed. He’s a dab hand at all this fixing malarkey.
By this time it’s getting dark and when we go inside there’s nothing we can do except sit round the fire and play guitar, banjo etc by candlelight. It’s relaxing and fun and we’re quite intrigued how it’s only 5pm but feels like midnight!
Maiju and Juuso have booked us a table for dinner at the Oak Tree. Just as well really, as without power the best we could manage at home would be a cheese sandwich! We’re treated to a fantastic meal, loads of wine and then we enjoy a few more drinks through in the bar with all our local pals…it’s a popular place tonight as no-one here or any of the neighbouring villages has any electricity. The Oak Tree’s annual January 3 ceilidh party has been cancelled, but we all have a fantastic night anyway.
It’s Maiju and Juuso’s last night with us at Loch Lomond so we stay up for a few more drinks in candlelight before falling into bed in the wee hours. We’ll miss our Finnish friends but our now well-pickled livers will be looking forward to a rest 
