Ho hum, just another day in Ireland... with no mains power...(up to five days already). Thanks be to all and sundry though - we have a generator on the property and well water (pumped by the genny) - So we are a bit limited, but a 1000% better off than the 50,000 or so households still without any power whatsoever. And at least Hurricane Ophelia had a nice ring to it. Yesterday (Thursday), it rained literally all day - hard - no let up and was windy. Stayed around the house rather than risking a drive into town for fish & chips (that's how wild it was!) The creek on the property, fed from higher ground, went ballistic about 5.20 pm and broke it's banks - within 20 minutes there was over a foot of water around the cottage and creeping under the door.... PANIC!!! James went out to assist with damming where necessary and undamming that which was unintended. I stayed in to barricade the door with a stack of clothes and towels. Thought we'd see an Ark float by any minute. Took around 2 hours to get it under control. Once it dropped below door level I made my escape to the main house and whipped up a mean Potato & Onion soup on top of the woodburner (which goes to show famine is really not something to worry about). Of course now, with power crews fighting to get everyone reconnected... we're about to be blown around and inundated with rain by Storm Brian. We know it's a huge storm (note picture!), but are finding it very difficult to feel threatened by a Brian. (Think how well Konan the Barbarian would have gone at the cinemas if it had been called Brian the Barbarian.) Anyway, aside from the lack of power, the floodwaters and the impending doom of Storm Brian - we're alive and well and looking forward to a mini-roadtrip to the south-west and the Ring of Kerry - starting Sunday - Woo hoo! Roadtrip!!!