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1987 storm programme on ITV..


retrogeezer

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Some choice tat on show, obviously not tat at the time but good viewing.

Indeed, I was impressed that they found an identical Bedfraud fire engine to the one that was clonked by a tree - this one I think?

 

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Although I was only sporadically watching, other reconstruction clip highlights included a very fine Transit mk2, a shaky Granada mk2 and that Volvo 240 police car which was surely about 10 years before its time :lol:

 

The period shots were better though, all sorts of fine old shite caught in the background of scenes with dead trees littering highways.

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I was only 4 (just over a month till I was 5) but I clearly remember looking up the pathway that led to our homes in Hitchin through the upstairs bay window & seeing a big tree leaning on the fence. That was just the tip of a very big iceberg - at that age I thought the world was ending! How far north was affected? I remember only finding out in later years that only the South was affected. Infact living where I do now - about as far south as you can go - I'm glad I wasn't down here back then as things must clearly have been alot worse! Down here they probably thought it only reached London, but no, we certainly got it in Hertfordshire.Most of the footage was based in Dorset, Hampshire & Sussex, the latter two being very much a part of my life since 1996 - some of the scenes showed very familiar surroundings to me e.g. Portsmouth, Fontwell, Worthing. It was weird associating those scenes of devastation with places I know so well now, but meant nothing to me in 1987! The London scenes had more relevance to me at that time, with my nan living in Barnet, relatives in Northolt & Golders Green / Hampstead Heath. Not that they showed those places though. Was this a regional programme or did they show it nationwide? Because it wouldn't have meant anything to our friends in the North, unless they wanted to educate them about it! They probably didn't even know it had occurred! :lol:

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The London scenes had more relevance to me at that time, with my nan living in Barnet, relatives in Northolt & Golders Green / Hampstead Heath.

Are we related? :shock::wink: I was 12 and remember it well too. A local park last about half is trees, or at least that's how I remember it. A huge Oak close to were I live now came down too narrowly missing the houses it was in front of.
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The London scenes had more relevance to me at that time, with my nan living in Barnet, relatives in Northolt & Golders Green / Hampstead Heath.

Are we related? :shock::wink: I was 12 and remember it well too. A local park last about half is trees, or at least that's how I remember it. A huge Oak close to were I live now came down too narrowly missing the houses it was in front of.
Well, stranger things have happened, but I don't think so. All my family grew up & originated from North London.There was a funny thing related to where my aunt & uncle live in Hampstead Garden Suburb, there was a high class eatery nearby called 'Uncle Ian's Deli Diner'. Well I have an Uncle Ian (my dad's brother) and the black & white image on the Diner was the spit of my uncle! He had nothing to do with it though! :lol: An amusing story related to the 'Great Storm'? When my nan & Grandpa used to live in Barnet, at the time of the storm my grandpa was in decline with Alzheimer’s (he lasted until 91) and he had a few random phrases that he would come out with, usually in no relation to the current conversation (or as you'll find out, sometimes humorously fitting!). Something he used to regularly do at random times was to say "Jolly good!" and then rub his hands together. Anyway, the day after the storm, my nan & grandpa were outside in the street talking to their neighbour about the damage a tree had caused in her garden, and her neighbour said "and as if this wasn't bad enough, my sister lost her husband the other day!" What immortal words of comfort did grandpa chip in with?......"Jolly good!" My nan has never been so embarrassed! :oops::lol:
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  • 1 year later...

 

 

 

Although I was only sporadically watching, other reconstruction clip highlights included a very fine Transit mk2, a shaky Granada mk2 and that Volvo 240 police car which was surely about 10 years before its time :lol:

 

 

That would be mine! :D Here she is again in History Boys

 

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And I know what you mean about the cop car, I wouldn't mind but we have a Mk5 cortina and a Mk2 granny both in uniform on the books, but we weren't asked :roll:

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at the time of the storm my grandpa was in decline with Alzheimer’s (he lasted until 91)

That's funny - my Grandma was already in decline with Alzheimer's in 1987, and she died just over a month ago - also aged 91.We were living in Oxford in '87, and we weren't as badly affected by the storm as some places, but I remember the road flooding quite badly (about two feet deep at the bottom of the road) which was fun, and the school being closed for the day because a bloody great branch had blown off a tree in the grounds and taken down the power lines. My dad had a Mk1 Astra estate at the time (A25RRO), our next door neighbour on one side had a C reg Polo Formel E (the "bread van" shape), the other side had a gold A reg Escort 1.3 Ghia, next door but one had a blue Triumph Acclaim, the old couple a few doors up had a dark blue Princess, and the family up the road had a blue Dolomite 1850. All no doubt long gone - in fact the Dolomite was scrapped shortly thereafter when a big end let go - my dad sold him our old Renault 6 (YMC35T), which I suspect he ran into the ground. Oh, and my mum had a little pale blue Fester 950L - CBB648V.
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at the time of the storm my grandpa was in decline with Alzheimer’s (he lasted until 91)

That's funny - my Grandma was already in decline with Alzheimer's in 1987, and she died just over a month ago - also aged 91.
That was meant to be 1991, he died age 74 I think. Sorry I should have made it clearer! Even before I got down as far as your reply, I read through this old thread again & I saw that bit & thought 'I could have written that in a better way, I bet people thought I meant he died aged 91 not he died in 1991!' :oops::roll:
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I am not ashamed to say (after lots of expensive therapy) that my mum was a Lada owner at this time. The link to the storms is the Lada Owner Magazine, that used to get posted to us every quarter, featured a story where a vicar in West Sussex had a 200-year-old oak tree fall on his Riva as a result of the storm - once they'd chopped the tree up, the Riva sprang back up to normal ride height, and started first time; a few dents on the roof being the only legacy. Not even any broken glass IIRC.Tough cars, Ladas. My mum played chicken (unintentionally) with a Transit minibus with hers once, and came off better...

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I was 14 and living in Romford. Our Renault 12 (GMG 607N) wasnt damaged but I do remember not being able to get to school because the main road was blocked by fallen trees. Me, Dad, and everyone else broke out the Axes and started chopping stuff up! No point waiting for the council as they couldnt get there either. I remember a tree had sliced a Marina van in half....owner none too pleased as he hadnt insured it!

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My secondry school was closed which was great whilst me and my mates went exploring where there used to be woods and there was now just cool things to climb on. Pretty much the whole of Highdown Hills trees were flattened at the top by the Saxon settlement. At the school the teachers took about moving all the debris and cutting up the fallen trees. My art teacher was cutting though a tree with a chainsaw when he was suddenly covered in blood. He fell to the floor screaming and the rest of the teachers ran over to help. 'Where does it hurt?' he was asked 'I dont know!' he screamed. The rest of the teachers checked him over for the injury before they finally concluded there was not one. Upon looking in the tree he was cutting it became apparent he had sawn right through a squirrel.

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I worked for London Boro of Ealing at the time and this all came a week after some very heavy rain had caused flooding at a couple of underground stns. After the storm we spent many happy days towing properly bogged down trucks out of Ealing's wrecked parks, as attempts were made to clear up the mess. Loads of tree lined streets so plenty of cars under trees, most of them not as lucky as Mr Welfare's Vicar's Lada. Didn't even think of taking a camera in.

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