Well, 2024 certainly got off to an interesting start, as Storm Henk left its mark on the home of UK Barn Finds.
We’re based on a redundant, somewhat derelict, pig farm in Suffolk and the storm battered the place this week. We’re used to strong wind and heavy rain, along with the accompanying flying debris, and have to batten down the hatches when a storm hits. It’s always a worry; in the past, we’ve had trees fall over and barn roof sheets fly off into parked cars, but this was yet another first.
Each day here tends to start with a frantic school run, followed by a walk with the dogs and, then, we start working. With it being the first day back to school after the Christmas break, we were keen to get stuck in.
The old feed bin you can see in the photos below is, at a guess, about 35ft tall. It is empty, but will still weigh a few tonnes, nevertheless. Obviously, it shouldn’t be leaning at a 45-degree angle, being supported by a flimsy breeze block wall, and about to fall in front of our workshop door…or worse!
And, in an ideal world, the 24v charger, the one we needed in order to breathe life back into one of the car transporters parked beside it, shouldn’t have been behind that door.
Anyway, after a quick risk assessment and a change of underwear, all the vehicles were removed and the feed bin made safe, ready to be properly removed and dismantled next week.
There was a bit of damage to the building, which we’ll need to fix as soon as we can, but nobody got hurt and the cars are safe. Both of our barn find Austin A30 projects are in that building. We’d have been heartbroken if they’d have been squashed, having survived about 50-years each in old barns.
Also, it would have been a tragedy for us if the smaller car transporter had been damaged; we bought that one before Christmas so that we can take our barn find cars to shows and haven’t actually used it yet. It was parked in the most precarious position of all the vehicles there. We’ve pledged to attend the first ever Rustival in March and we need that truck!
So, 2024 hasn’t got off to the best start, but that’s good, yeah? Things can only get better. And they have already…we’re off to film a barn find extraction next week!
Happy New Year,
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