On Wednesday we knew that there were due to be gale force winds the following day so we put more tape on the tear which happened last August. And crossed our fingers. The winds were extremely strong on that Thursday so we weren’t surprised when the cover on the main tunnel tore (in a different place). The coffee we were about to have got somewhat delayed. Have you ever heard a large sheet of polythene flapping in the wind? It is loud, in fact it is very LOUD. There was a huge pressure on the hoops which could easily buckle if we didn’t do something.  So Philip got the Stanley knife and made a few cuts. Then attached the knife to a pole to reach the higher parts. Meanwhile I was grabbing the polythene to prevent it from taking off into the next county. The damage inside the tunnel was minimal, yes pots were blown over, compost and leaves were everywhere and the ground cover sheets became loose. This was so much better than the last time when strong winds took a sheet off. We were away at the time and the devastation in the tunnel was soul destroying. The ragged sheets of polythene had time to swish backwards and forwards knocking plants every which way and depositing small pieces of plastic everywhere. It took a very long time to clear up.

The preparation is ongoing for the new cover to be put on. We are waiting for a calm, warmish day when, hopefully with some friends helping, we can get the new sheet on.