Beverley Lass

Oh yes Brian, those that can, should make the most of this. So welcome after the long, hard winter. BL

Gorgeous day here, not a cloud in the sky. Warm at 12C. I've even sat out in the sunshine for an hour. Hope the skies stay clear to enjoy the big, bright Moon tonight. B.

As the nuclear crisis worsens, we must pray for fair winds and no rain By Geoffrey Lean World Last updated: March 17th, 2011 (Telegraph) After days of seesawing between hope and fear, between a triumphant vindication of nuclear safety and a disastrous loss of confidence in the atom, events at the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactors seem to have taken an alarming turn for the worse, as the Foreign Office advises Britons to consider leaving Tokyo and north-eastern Japan. Yukiya Amano, the Japanese head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has abandoned his largely reassuring stance to say the situation is “very seriousâ€. Gregory Jaczko, the Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has been assisting the Japanese authorities, said that radiation levels are “extremely highâ€. And the EU’s energy commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, said: “We are somewhere between a disaster and a major disaster.†He added: “There is talk of an apocalypse and I think the word is particularly well chosen.†The danger has arisen not from the three reactors themselves that have been the focus of almost of the attention of the last five days, but from the pool used to store highly radioactive spent fuel at a fourth. Unlike the reactor cores, which are inside thick containment, the pool – which is on upper floor of the reactor building – has no special shielding: all that lies between the radioactivity and the environment is the water in which it is supposed to be submerged. And Mr Jaczko has told the US Congress that that has all gone. “We believe,†he said, “that there is no water in the spent fuel pondâ€. Furthermore, he added, the radiation was so intense that it “could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measuresâ€. Already plans to drop water on it from helicopters had to be abandoned because they would have involved pilots flying into the radioactive plume and it may be that no-one can get near them. If that is so, there may be no way of salvaging the situation, and that the last defence will be the element. So far, thank goodness the wind has been blowing the plume out to sea in fine weather. If it were to turn inland the fears of a catastrophe could materialize, especially if rain were to bring the airborne radioactive materials down to earth. The people living around Chernobyl were lucky: the accident happened on a still night and the heat of the fire carried the radioactivity high into the air, as if in an invisible chimney, where it encountered a gentle breeze tat wafted it over relatively uninhabited marshes. Providentially it did not rain for days. We can only desperately hope for similarly meteorological good fortune in Japan.

One small mercy, that it is headed out to the ocean. B.

Yes, according to today's figures of known dead and missing their total is around 12,000. Bad as that is, I thought it would be 10 times that looking at the mass devastation of urban areas. BL

I see, many thanks for that answer JBD. BL

I see they are now employing the helicopters to drop water on the reactors. Can I ask .. If the 80" concrete and steel protective walls are intact how does that have any effect ? Sorry if that's a daft question. B.

Pics of Devastation Some of the most dramatic pics of the aftermath of the Tsunami here. Incredible and awful. B. PS I think the latest aftershock has now been rated 6.2

Just hearing / reading the quake has now been upgraded in power to 9.0 on the Richter Scale. B.

The pictures of the Tsunami are shocking. 10 metres high wall of water. Poor souls. B.

Yikes, yes, just watching the first pictures on the BBC now. B.

Just turned on the BBC news to see the pictures coming in. Awful. 6.3 magnitude they are saying. B.

My link Some good pics of the USA snow storm here. And the present world wide snow cover. BL

30 photos Here are some early pics from the online Telegraph. Devastated homes, crops and just look at that pile of yachts ! Amazing if no-one died, here's hoping. BL

Thanks, I keep coming back to the ABC news link. Talk of 180 mph + winds. Yikes ! BL

Mail Online Some info, maps and great pics here. I especially love the photo of the icy cable cars ! Yikes it is some storm ! BL

Aye, exactly the same temp. here first thing Brian. Nice and sunny now. BL.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344913/Animal-death-mystery-Two-MILLION-dead-fish-wash-Maryland-bay.html Awww, now it's Collared Doves dropping dead from the sky in Italy. BL

Sounds a great addition. Thanks. Looking forward to reading that. BL

Morning Brian Aye, no white stuff here this time .. (7 miles from the coast) I must admit to enjoying walking free of that deadly ice though. BL

Morning all, 2.5C here and fair tipping down with Rain after a frosty start. BL

Dead Crabs And thousands of poor wee crabs dead and washed up on Kent beaches .. thought to be from the extreme cold. Hope that's not too OT from your birds .. BL.

Lucky here, very clear sky and it is looking beautiful. BL PS. It is -13.6C !

Many thanks for these John BL