Babet

Statue of Queen Victoria in Endcliffe Park earlier today

In the last thirty hours an Atlantic storm has been sweeping across The British Isles dumping vast amounts of rain upon us. Of course, some places have been hit harder than others with the east coast of Scotland perhaps suffering the most but here in Sheffield we have had two inches of rain in twenty four hours so we have also suffered.

Earlier this year a Dutch woman visited the headquarters of her country's national weather agency and put a storm name suggestion in the appropriate box. It was her own name - Babet and that's what this current event is called - Storm Babet.

Our house is on a hillside so we can never be properly flooded. It has rained all day and it is still raining now as bedtime approaches. Sometimes the rain has battered down in a biblical manner  as if we had accidentally attracted the wrath of  Almighty God and I watched as a stream surged down our road on its way to Endcliffe Park at the bottom of the hill. Already feeling "under the weather" if you will excuse the pun, I didn't venture outside all day.

The River Porter flows through Endcliffe Park, draining water from the nearby hills. Usually, it is nothing more than a gentle stream where small children paddle in the summertime but today is was a raging torrent. Its overlapping waters surrounded the statue of Queen Victoria and covered the main field. Even Phoebe's favourite children's play area was under water.

Though our house could never be flooded because of the geography of our area, we have experienced a leak in the corner of our kitchen. The rain water has found its way between the kitchen's sloped  roof and the joint with next door's wall. We had the same problem a few years back and if we get a dry spell in the next few weeks I will be up on that roof again with more waterproof sealant.

Of course our small rain-related issue is as nothing compared with the upset that is caused when a house is truly flooded and in the past thirty hours numerous homes across this kingdom have had to be evacuated because of rising flood waters.

If your house is invaded by muddy flood water you know that you are in for weeks or months of associated hassle. The clean-up, replacement of plaster and electric wiring, throwing carpets out and finding somewhere else to live for the duration. You might also have to deal with an awkward insurance company if indeed you have sensibly taken out home insurance.

Finally, I ought to mention in passing that Storm Babet has taken at least three British  lives in the past two days. Very sad indeed.

Flood water and the children's play area

from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/PdYOyiS