Storm Doris does for my greengage

Storm Doris is sweeping across the UK today with wind speeds of 50mph and higher gusts here in Peterborough.

Margaret and I went to the allotment at lunchtime to lop the new growth off the pollarded willows, but the wind was much stronger than we’d anticipated.

Margaret was carry some branches across to the side of the allotment and I was trying to balance on top of the compost bin to do the top of one tree when she called for me to come.

I thought she’s seen a strange bird or found a creature of some kind and I was a bit grumpy. When I got across, she was standing near the greengage tree and as the wind blew, you could see the roots pulling the earth up out of the ground. It was going to be uprooted any minute.

I rushed to the shed to get a saw and managed to lop off a couple of branches and then get the loppers to take off some smaller branches to reduce the drag. Margaret went home to get a better saw and then I took all of the big branches off, leaving just the main trunk. I think I’ll borrow Chris Coakley’s chain-saw and take it all down next week.

The problem was that there was a wildling plum (probably seeded from the greengage) that had grown next to it. It had taken light from the greengage and made the tree grow outwards.

I took the wild plum down, but didn’t have time to prune and shape the greengage (it was on my list). I think it was just too leggy and bent to withstand the storm today.

It was a good job Margaret spotted it. If it had fallen, it would have taken out a good chunk of fencing.

My greengage wasn’t the only casualty of the storm – a tree is down in the churchyard, Whittlesey Road is part blocked by a fallen tree and a couple are down along The Causeway (by the Toneham path) although they haven’t fallen across the road. There are also a number of vans and lorries blown over.

The storm should be subsiding now (according to WeatherPro), but it is still blowing hard and gusting harder.

Tree down on The Causeway (above) and Churchyard (below)

Three HGVs blown over at Ring's End