Member-only story
Storm Éowyn and me
Would the world stop for anything?
Storm Éowyn (yes that’s right, named after J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings character who slayed the Witch King) reached the UK this week and red warnings were given to many parts of Scotland.
I watched the news recommendations to stay inside and keep off the roads as the winds were said to hit highs of 90 miles an hour in some areas. Theatres, schools, and supermarkets were sharing on their social medias that they were closing so when I went into work I expected my employers to say they were doing the same.
My employers (a local shop) instead avoided any conversations with us about whether they were going to remain open. Many staff were locals who could walk to work and the general consensus was they’d stay open until there was reason to close.
I found this very frustrating. When I was newer to the job, I remember I drove to work and a storm hit that flooded a lot of major roads. I ended up having to take a few different people home, driving through puddles that came up to the bonnet of the car, wondering how it was I got myself into this situation.
So I told them I wasn’t coming in.
As the storm hit, I felt pretty justified in my decision. It was January, a notoriously quiet time of year for retail after the Christmas rush…
