A farmer’s wife has thanked the community for helping to keep their cows watered in the aftermath of Storm Arwen.
Audrey and Garry Stewart have been without power since Friday after raging winds and rain battered the north-east.
But while the family is managing to keep themselves warm with their log-burner – which they’re also using to make toast – their bigger worry was the herd of cattle Mr Stewart looks after.
Mrs Stewart, from Kintore, said: “There’s a lot of cows in the sheds now, a few hundred probably. They’re inside and they need a constant supply of water.
“We’ve had none and no electric to get the pumps working, so the cows had no water.
“Luckily, we’ve a kind neighbour who has loaned us a generator so we were able to get the pump started to get some water to the cows.”
Adapting to new conditions
Mr and Mrs Stewart have no idea how much longer they will be cut off, but praised the wider community for rallying together.
Aberdeenshire Council has advised it will take “several days” for all communities to be reconnected to power, and SSEN are working round-the-clock to repair the damage.
Earlier today, the Scottish Government’s response to the storm was declared a “monumental failure”, with North East Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden claiming communities had been left facing a “wall of silence”.
In the meantime, communities have come together – throwing open the doors of village halls to offer hot soups and snacks.
Catering vans serving hot food have been set up in a number of locations across Aberdeenshire, including Braemar, Turriff, Aboyne and Alford.
But Mrs Stewart said it has been hard to know what help is available as most of the information is being shared online, leaving many people who are cut-off having to rely on word of mouth.
“You can see the lights on over in Tyrebagger and I’m like ‘Oh they’ve got power’,” she said.
“We went down to the burger van in Kintore on Sunday to get some hot food, but it would have been good to have better communication to let us know it was there.”
Friends and family have been ‘fantastic’
Mrs Stewart, who works in a school, admitted she was feeling cut off from the world, adding: “It’s hard, they’re doing their best, but it would be nice to know more.
“It’ll be good to know what’s going on in the world, who else is affected, we feel so isolated. It’s strange, the silence. I had some music playing on my phone but I don’t want to use up the battery either.
“Friends and family have been great though. Somebody dropped off big bottles of water and there’s the generator we were given to get water sorted out for the animals. They’ve been fantastic.”
Fallen trees across the north-east
Roads were closed across the north-east due to fallen trees which also struck the Stewart family’s farmland.
“A large branch just missed the shed and a tractor when it fell down. There have been a lot of trees down on the farm, but no buildings damaged this time, luckily,” Mrs Stewart said.
“My husband and son were out on Saturday taking trees off the road for cars.”
Charlie Heron, who lives nearby, was also out over the weekend helping to clear the roads.
The 78-year-old said: “There were power lines and trees over the road which needed cleared to let the traffic flow. If someone needs help, I’ll help them. That’s the way it is in the country.”
While he has still has a gas supply at home to keep the stove and heating going, Mr Heron’s home has been without power and hot water since Friday.
He added: “There are folk an awful lot worse off. We just survive.”