Frank weather...

"It's so cosy," says Maggie, "when the wind and rain are lashing against the window and I can just coorie under the covers. I fall asleep much quicker."

And once again, as storm "Frank" batters our shores, I'm struck by another fundamental difference between me and my wife.

For when I hear the wild winds and torrential downpours pounding at the windows, I'm waiting for slates to come off the roof or for water to start dripping through the ceiling or run down the walls. It's anything but cosy...

However, if the roof survives, this kind of weather can bring interesting photo opportunities. Widespread flooding has been rife across Dumfries and Galloway (it seems the "200 year floods" appear to be happening every 2 or 3 years these days) and when Loch Ken bursts its banks it can sometimes make for some beautiful images, even if several houses have to be evacuated.

Although the winds were still high, the rain eased off this afternoon so I headed out with the camera.

Unfortunately my plans were scuppered when it turned out that pretty much every route I wanted to take was impassable.



Still, it became a fairly sociable occasion. At the edge of this stretch of water I chatted to a guy who says he's lived here 50 years and never seen the water so high; I met a friend who was also out with his camera; and had a discussion with a woman who was trying to get home what alternative routes might be possible.