We had plenty of forewarning about Storm Bert but he still hit us hard! As we are about to go to print with the December newsletter, Bert is still raging outside our windows, whistling down our chimneys, and causing the waves at the beach to roar. We hope he will have cleared off by the time we wake up tomorrow morning.
Luckily, around the village the damage to property appears to have been restricted to mainly fallen fences and gates and a few roof tiles here and there (so far). Not like Storm Eunice (in February 2022), who caused a trail of devastation throughout the village! Even so, Bert has been a challenge.
Typically, the storm arrived just days after our village Christmas tree was installed causing it to go from upright to the now-familiar tilt that Camber’s tree always succumbs to at some point in its tenure! On the day of the Christmas Fayre, many of the newly-placed baubles blew away, some landing on the ground beneath the tree, whilst others blew away up the road. The strings of lights found their way on to the north-side of the tree, leaving it looking rather dark on one side. Hopefully the Parish Council will be able to tidy it up a bit once the storm abates.
The Christmas Fayre was in danger of being de-railed by Bert but it turned out not to be the case. It seems a bit of wind will not deter Camber folk from venturing out to join in with this fantastic annual community event! An atmosphere of fun and enjoyment prevailed inside the Memorial Hall, as Bert whined on, outside. Even the people who arrived at the hall soaking wet from the wind and rain still had smiles on their faces once they were inside!
In Central Car Park, the building site for the new welcome centre took a pounding! It is, of course, in the direct firing line of the wind coming off the beach. The boundary fencing of the site was blown over, and the port-a-loos in the car park were upended. We just hope there was no one using them when they blew over!
As with all strong storms, the sand blew off the beach and coated our roads, gardens, windows and cars. One visitor to Camber awoke early on the Sunday morning and was shocked to look out of the window and see what they thought was a coating of snow! They soon discovered it was just sand!
Walkers on the beach witnessed the sea at its wildest and the sand in the air flew into their eyes and stuck to their faces. The dunes were, once more, re-shaped a little, and the tide served up a veritable feast table of shellfish for the gulls and seabirds, dumping huge piles of mussels, clams, cockles, scallops and razors onto the beach!
We know Storm Bert won’t be the last major storm we will have this winter season, but let’s hope it was the worst and all those to come will pale in comparison. Stay safe, everyone.
