As Storm Darragh batters its way across the UK, with howling winds, torrential rain, and the ominous threat of power outages, many of us have found ourselves hunkering down indoors. Streets are eerily quiet, travel plans are shelved, and for some, homes and livelihoods have been tragically disrupted. The destruction reminds us of the immense power of nature—and how fragile our modern world truly is, and personally I find that very humbling.
For those of us fortunate enough to remain safe, this enforced time indoors has provided a moment to reconnect. With screens flickering under candlelight or Wi-Fi taking an unexpected hiatus, families are rediscovering something long relegated to dusty cupboards: board games.
Yes, Monopoly disputes may still rage and Scrabble can get competitive, and down right silly at some of the words I've come up with and tried to get away with, but there’s something uniquely heartwarming about sitting around a table, laughing over dice rolls and bad moves, far away from the endless scroll of social media.
Quality family time isn’t just nostalgic—it’s necessary. Amid life’s whirlwind, simple connections can become a luxury, replaced by notifications and to-do lists. Storm Darragh may have trapped us indoors, but it’s also given us a chance to truly see each other again, to have those rare conversations that stretch longer than a text message, and to remind ourselves what we treasure most.
But as we shuffle cards and share stories, it’s impossible to ignore the wider devastation outside. Homes have been flooded, coastal defenses overwhelmed, and livelihoods uprooted. Storm Darragh is another brutal reminder that climate change isn’t a future problem—it’s happening now. Weather patterns are becoming more extreme, seasons more unpredictable. These “once-in-a-century” storms are occurring with alarming frequency.
The science is clear, and so is the call to action. We can no longer ignore the environmental warnings written across our skies and shores. Beyond the storm’s chaos, there’s a plea for unity—just as families are reconnecting over games, humanity needs to come together to address the climate crisis, and understand why we are experiencing more extreme weather conditions.
Storm Darragh may have forced us to pause, but it’s also given us a chance to reflect. On what matters. On what’s at stake. And on how, together, we can weather the storms—both literal and metaphorical—that lie ahead.
