Barney and Me

Yesterday I went to the cinema to see the early evening screening of The Lady in the Van (excellent: both sad and funny, a very moving story) and then had to fight my way back to the car park through the winds and rain that was Storm Barney. Needless to say, I arrived home soaked through and cold, but nothing that a soak in the bath couldn't remedy.

 

So, one warm bath later and wrapped in my dressing gown, I was about to settle down with a relaxing mug of hot chocolate.  Picture the scene ... mood lighting from a single lamp, CD playing quietly in the background, and I was closing the blinds to shut the night out and savour that feeling of being safe and warm inside while the storm raged outside. I'd just reached the French doors leading onto the garden and pressed my nose to the glass to see if I could see what was happening in the garden when something smacked against the outside of the glass. 

One screaming fit later, I plucked up the courage to turn the outside lights on and try to see what had hit the glass door. The lights revealed my favourite clematis doing some sort of breakdance along the decking, smacking into the glass doors at regular intervals.  The storm had ripped the top of the plant from its trellis but it still seemed to be rooted, so I thought the best thing to do would be to chop it off and see what it looked like in the morning.

So, dressed only in my dressing gown I ventured out into the stormy night to look in the garage for the secateurs.  Of course, I couldn't get to the light switch because all of Julie's things are still piled in front of it, so it was a case of hunting in the dark.  I don't know why I didn't have the gumption to wear a coat over my dressing gown, but all I can say is the cold wind was getting everywhere!  A life time later, at least that's what it seemed like, I found the secateurs and cut the clematis away and stuffed it in an empty compost sack in the back of the garage - not as drastic as it sounds as it needed to be done but I'd planned to wait for more favourable conditions! 

 

Looking at it this morning I can see that it has uprooted itself on one side so I've tucked it all back in and am hoping that it survives. There's no other damage thankfully, just a few twigs and various bits of greenery that appeared from I don't know where, which only took a few minutes to pick up and dispose of.  I've been luckier than some of my neighbours, who lost fence panels and wheelie bins.  Just wish it hadn't been my favourite plant that took the biggest hit ... still it's quite resilient so it should grow back as healthily as ever.  Time will tell!