LIVING out my DAYS IN 22: March and storm Zeus in Brittany

The winds were seriously strong here during Sunday last and I spent a good deal of the morning watching how far one of the very tall pine trees in my neighbour’s garden was bending to the east with each huge gust. I was soaked from doing the animals first thing and my newly washed clothes are hanging drying in the warmth of the woodburner. Later we had sunshine and blue skies but we had been warned of the violent weather to come.

We had the first blip in the electricity supply and I quickly filled the kettle hoping to have a coffee before the current went for good. It was only a few minutes later, at 11.50hrs, before the kettle had automatically switched off, that the lights, television, laptop, flykiller and all the other stuff I had previously had working died. I didn’t realise for at least an hour that the incubator was off – when I did, I tried to use my mobile ‘phone and found I could make a call on it from inside the house – a first in nearly eleven years. I called friends at Burlaouen, five minutes away, knowing that they were on a different electricity supply. I lost the call, but almost immediately Roger called me back and I explained the situation. Having driven as smoothly as possible with my precious cargo, we plugged in the incubator and it sprang into life on their outside electrical supply. I stayed there having coffee for an hour or so and then came back home. Within 90 minutes Linda called to say that their electricity had now disappeared too. I called a friend in Kerfornan to see if they still had their supply; they did. I collected the incubator and drove off to the next working socket. Unfortunately, one of the eggs got a large bash in the side and had to be removed, it was a Jersey Giant egg, the only one in this batch. I broke it on the roadside on the way home and it had contained a little black chick – very sad.

I have no conventional means of cooking or heating anything without electricity, but filled a saucepan with enough water for a mug of coffee, opened the woodburner door, flattened the fire a little and placed the pan directly on the burning logs. Within minutes I was drinking a hot, sweet coffee – marvellous! I repeated this six or seven times during the day and even cooked half a tin of baked beans in the same way which I had with bread and butter. Not exactly gourmet cookery, but better than nothing.

It's strange when you live alone and have no electricity. There is no-one to talk with, no company at all, no telephone, no Skype, no Facebook, no emails. I couldn’t do the puzzles in The Times on-line to which I subscribe or play Scrabble with all my usual opponents. So, finally I got out my friend’s Kindle, which she had lent me as it had this month’s Book Group book on it. I read about 13% before it died. I assume lack of battery and I can’t, of course, charge it. I then switched to a real book, another of this month’s reads – Disclaimer by Renee Knight. Not a long book, 360+ pages, but a good book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I read it by the headlight I wore while I was in bed and then finished it in the morning once the sun had come through the windows.

Before I put the animals to bed on Monday, I went to the furthest field to check again on Martha. She was in the far end of the shelter and had given birth to a white lamb, another ram. I took a few quick photos in the dying light on my mobile ‘phone. I have never had a girl lamb born here, always boys. The birth had only just happened and the afterbirth was on the fresh hay. I picked up the lamb, holding it for a moment like a baby while I checked the gender and kissed him, leaving a lipstick mark on the top of his head. He and Martha seemed fine. I took in a bucket of water and poured a large heap of sheep nuts, corn and mixed cereal just inside the door so she didn’t have to come out into the dreadful weather. The field was full of mud and it had crept into my rubber clogs and crept up my trousers as I crawled into the sheep shelter. On the way back home I popped in to show my neighbours the photos and they invited me for aperitifs. I went home first to wash and change my muddy clothes and shoes, returning after I’d put the garden hens to bed.

We sat around the dining table in the candlelight and put the world to rights over our Muscat and then red wine. Slices of sausage and toast with paté and cornichons kept the wolf from the door. According to their battery radio 600,000 homes in this part of France were without electricity. Around 21.00hrs I said my goodbyes and walked home. I went straight to bed with my book and head torch.

Mid morning, Paulette arrived to say that because Christian’s mobile ‘phone battery was flat he had driven to the Mairie in St Nicolas du Pélem to telephone EDF regarding when we might expect to be reconnected. Apparently their answer was this afternoon, so we live in hope.

I have written this with the last vestiges of my laptop battery and now need to save it before it dies completely.

Well, EDF did not keep their promise. Monday evening came and went. On Tuesday morning, still no electricity. I went off to a Bowls match and had a good morning playing doubles with Sue. We were runners up in the final count.

I shopped on the way home and on arriving back in the village, Christian told me that EDF were now saying between 20.00-21.00hrs for reconnecting us. As I hadn’t had a hot meal since Saturday, they took pity on me and invited me for supper. The main course was delicious, but something I had never eaten before – pig’s cheeks. They had been casseroled for several hours in red wine, onions and carrots and were very tasty. Home made apple pie for pudding and several glasses of alcohol to wash everything down. While we were having our aperitifs the lights suddenly sprang into life. The joy from us all was palpable. I rushed home to make sure that everything was working chez moi and it was. Three hours later when I went home to bed I checked the chest freezers – they were fine and nothing had defrosted. The only defrosted food was that in the freezer part of the fridge freezer in my very warm house – so not much lost at all.

I can’t tell you how lovely it is to have a hot shower, wash my hair, plug in the kettle, switch on a light, make a ‘phone all, go onto the internet and have my incubator back in the kitchen again with just four days to go until I see if we will have any chicks in spite of their eventful week.

There are so many trees down, chopped up by the roadside and still waiting for that to happen with their roots up in the air. Smaller branches and twigs are all over the roads and it will all take some time to clear up. I was lucky and don't seem to have had any damage here but I know there are plenty of people who have been hit badly by the storm and several serious casualties and even deaths. Nature is a powerful thing.

Now for the star of the week - the first photo taken within the hour after his birth in the old pig ark which is now the sheep shelter.