Nostalgia: Highs and blows of stormy Capital life

IT'S been a bit windy over the last few days '“ as you might have noticed.

Scaffolding is scattered all across Graham Street in Leith after being blown down in 1962. Picture: TSPL

There has been no shortage of disruption, with trains cancelled and road smashes causing huge hold-ups.

First we had the remnants of Storm Jonas, which wreaked havoc across the east coast of the United States last weekend, killing at least 19 people.

Then we had Storm Gertrude, which sparked some dramatic scenes yesterday.

Passers-by rush to stop a baby's pushchair being blown away at Edinburgh's Waverley Steps during the gales of November 1981. Picture: TSPL

We’re no strangers in the Capital to wild weather, as our pictures show.

Passers-by raced to the aid of a struggling parent at the top of the Waverley Steps on Princes Street during gales in November 1981 after a pram threatened to blow away.

Two years earlier, the wind was causing trouble in the city centre as the Christmas decorations were disturbed in Princes Street.

But that was nothing compared to the potential danger when storms hit Graham Street in Leith in December 1962.

A policeman inspects the damage to Princes Street Gardens after a floodlight and stonework are dislodged from the Scott Monument by the January gales in 1968. Picture: TSPL

Onlookers were concerned after masonry plummeted from roofs and scaffolding threatened to collapse.

When a hole emerged in Princes Street Gardens in January 1968, police decided to look into it.

Our picture shows an officer inspecting the damage after a floodlight and stonework became dislodged from the Scott Monument.