A blustery, buskery day...

Monday's storm was named after St Jude, the so-called patron saint of lost causes - since it coincided with St Jude's feast day. I went out early in the morning to rescue a few things that had been blown over in the garden, and got caught in an exceptional gust of wind which almost blew me off my feet but, other than the rest of the apples and pears being blown down (no bad thing), we pretty much got away with it. Still, there are a few branches down in the town, and a lot more trees have come down in the surrounding countryside...

There was an open day at St Pete's in town, but the start was only slightly delayed. The wind blew away the clouds and things got going properly when Fireflow came along, to teach some juggling and hula-hooping outside, buskers turned up to fill the entrance porch with music, and improvised jam sessions started up among those waiting for their slot.

The Gorgeous Girl and I climbed the bell tower and tried our hands at bell-ringing - I'm sure the cry of '...you're a natural!' had more to do with their desperate need to recruit more bell-ringers than any real talent!

Mr Gainsborough turned his back on proceedings, perhaps thinking it wasn't quite his thing...

I wonder what kind of portraits he would have made, from all the interesting folk around?

As dusk fell, the jugglers moved indoors to perform fire juggling - I don't think the old place has ever seen the like...!

After helping tidy up, C tried to pick up something to eat on the way home - the cafes and restaurants were chock full of people who had no power at home, and who'd decided to come into town to ensure a hot evening meal! The pizza place had run out of pizza base! Hmmm, methinks the powers-that-be are missing a trick in how to get the economy moving again...