|
At the start of each month I take a look back at the previous month's weather information for Stirling. More historical weather stats can be found on the Stirling Weather website April 2020
As well as the main weather website, Facebook and Twitter, in the Stirling Observer published each Wednesday I look back and take a look ahead to what the Stirling Weather has in store for us.  Stirling Golf Course, King's Park (05 April 2020)
0 Comments
During this health emergency all our thoughts are with the families who are affected or have suffered because of COVID-19. Also to our amazing health workers who are working tirelessly to support those families and protect the health of us all. This article is intended to focus on supporting small business owners but we should not lose sight of those helping care, support and fight to keep the country safe and moving forward. What a week - at the time of writing this article its been nearly seven days since UK "lockdown" and when most of the business world stopped. Small businesses up and down the country were either forced to close or business owners made the correct moral decision to close helping to protect the health of their employees and customers as well as helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Every small business owner in the country who has been affected should be proud of their actions and also give themselves a pat on the back for what they have had to go through over the past week. Many have had to furlough employees and spend many hours and long days on the phone to customers, suppliers and banks. It’s not been easy and it is unlikely to be any easier over the coming weeks and months. But that does not mean that as a small business owner we just sit back and accept our fate, whether that would be as extreme as business closure or just sitting back, waiting and hoping for normal times to return. It’s important for our health, our families and our business that we have sacrificed so much for over the years to build up that we do not just let the current situation and events overwhelm us. There are steps we can take to get us through this, to give us the strength to plan our next moves and to action our way out of this not only as business survivors but also in a much stronger position. Like nearly every business owner over the past week I've lost sleep, spent many hours on the telephone to a host of different people and organisations and had to make some pretty big and important decisions in recent days that not only affect my own but other peoples life’s. I’ve been running my own business for nearly 24 years now and nothing over that period has prepared me for events of the past week but over those years I've learnt many tactics, routines and plans that have helped me navigate through those many years of small business life. There's probably going to be no other time in my business life where I need to rely on that arsenal of tools as much than the present time - I'm compiling this list of things primarily for my own benefit as it's so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of news, social media posts, guidance and rules, that I needed to write them down in this article to keep on reminding myself that I have tools to help my wellbeing, to help me focus and to help me plan for the coming weeks, months and years ahead. Below is a list of 10 tools that I rely on, some every day, some every week and some whenever I require them. The list is not exhaustive but hopefully you will find some of them helpful to not only as small business owners but also as human beings trying to navigate through this turbulent time. Please comment and share with me your own tactics and tools. At the start of each month I take a look back at the previous month's weather information for Stirling. More historical weather stats can be found on the Stirling Weather website. January 2020
As well as the main weather website, Facebook and Twitter, in the Stirling Observer published each Wednesday I look back and take a look ahead to what the Stirling Weather has in store for us.  Stirling Castle (18 January 2020)  Stirling Weather Information
Past Week Sunday January, 5 to Saturday January, 11 The first working week of 2020 was wet and windy. A weekly rainfall total of 86.6mm was our highest weekly total since mid-March 2019 with over two inches of rainfall recorded on Friday evening and Saturday. Our maximum wind speed recorded was 47mph on Tuesday 7, our highest of 2020 so far. Despite a couple of mornings of frost it was in general a mild week with four days reaching double figures and the 12.9ºC recorded on Tuesday 7, is our highest temperature of the winter season. Maximum Temperature: 12.9ºC Tuesday January, 7 Lowest Temperature: -2.7ºC Friday January 10 Maximum Daily Rainfall: 37.3mm Saturday January, 11 Weekly Rainfall Total: 86.6mm Maximum Wind Gust: 47mph Tuesday January, 7 The Week Ahead Similar to last week this week also started off wet and windy with wind speeds around 45mph on Monday. It will remain blustery for most of the week. Wednesday could be a drier day but rain is expected to return on Thursday. Most of the wet weather this week is expected to fall as rain but at lower levels it could turn occasionally to sleet. There are signs that from Friday and into the weekend that more settled conditions will move into the area and with that temperatures would drop to freezing and below. Earliest Sunrise: 08:30 Latest Sunset: 16:23 Did You know: It’s been a wet past week and the longest period in January we have went without any rainfall was for 6 days during 2017. On January 26, 2016 we recorded our wettest January day with 43.8mm of rainfall with over 9mm falling in just one hour in a month that saw 231mm of rain. For the local weather news including historical and real-time weather information from Stirling visit www.stirlingweather.co.uk and on social media @stirlingweather and also our weather editor @scottlmclean At the start of each month I take a look back at the previous month's weather information for Stirling. More historical weather stats can be found on the Stirling Weather website. December 2019
As well as the main weather website, Facebook and Twitter, in the Stirling Observer published each Wednesday I look back and take a look ahead to what the Stirling Weather has in store for us. Below: Stirling County Cricket Club on December 15, 2019.  So there goes another Christmas and with it another year with no festive snow. The last time we had snow in Stirling on Christmas Day was in 2010 during the cold spell that lasted from November, through December and into January 2011. Some would say that we had enough of the cold and snow during that spell to last a decade but in keeping with the season it would have been nice if we had some snow over the festive periods since. In last week's Stirling Observer newspaper (article below) I wrote more about the 2019 Christmas weather. As well as the main weather website, Facebook and Twitter, in the Stirling Observer published each Wednesday I look back and take a look ahead to what the Stirling Weather has in store for us.  Past Week
Sunday 13 to Saturday 19 October A fairly quiet spell of weather with drier and calmer conditions than the previous week. Temperature was near average for the time of year. Maximum Temperature: 14.2ºC Tuesday 15 October Lowest Temperature: 2.1ºC Thursday 17 October Maximum Daily Rainfall: 7.87mm Friday 18 October Weekly Rainfall Total: 20.81mm Maximum Wind Gust: 18mph Sunday 13 & Saturday 19 October The Week Ahead Forecast: As the clocks go back our attention starts to turn to the long winter ahead but only once in the last 10 years have we recorded wintry weather in October, it’s not until late November that we will regularly be on the look out for the risk of snowfall in Stirling. To end this week and to start the weekend there will be some spells of rain although this will be mixed with sunny intervals. There is a small chance of some wintry weather on more northern local hills and mountains. Breezy at times in the second half of the week. Temperature around 13ºC maximum and 2ºC minimum. Earliest Sunrise: 07:11 (adjusted for change to GMT) Earliest Sunset: 4.42pm (adjusted for change to GMT) For the local weather news including historical and real-time weather information from Stirling visit www.stirlingweather.co.uk and on social media @stirlingweather and also our weather editor @scottlmclean  It's September and it's a full month of charity fundraising for Prostate Cancer UK.
Starting on the 1st of the month with my commitment of 11,000 steps each day for March the Month and ending by running the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon in Glasgow. "Well that was interesting" - That was my facebook and twitter response on Stirling Weather to being caught up in the heavy rainfall on Monday evening (24 June 2019). A tweet and phrase I came to slightly regret saying after seeing and realising the damage the rainfall and subsequent floods brought to some businesses and homes in parts of Stirling.
While "it was interesting" to be out and about during our worst flooding in many years it certainly is not how those who's properties have been affected by the water damage will feel. But as the week progressed the word "interesting" could again be used to describe our weeks weather in Stirling.  So in one week I will take part in the Stirling marathon, or as its been branded this year the Great Stirling Run. The event is now in its 3rd year and it's a scenic marathon starting and finishing in the City of Stirling while taking in the surrounding rolling countryside to the north of the city, passing through small towns such as Doune, Dunblane and Bridge of Allan where the locals come out in force to support the runners.
Now let me be honest from the beginning, I am no running expert, while I was actively fit playing football at a reasonably competitive youth level up until my late teens, for the next 16-17 years I let myself go, fed up with sport, giving no thought to exercising or what I was eating, I was just being consumed with work and business and as my business developed and grew and I became more office based instead of doing physical work my weight ballooned. |
Scott McLeanBusiness , Weather, Community, Charity 
www.stirlingelectrical.co.uk
www.stirlingalarms.co.uk
www.stirlingev.co.uk
www.stirlingweather.co.uk
www.saturntaxis.com
Archives
March 2020
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
