Rain DID Stop Play!

Normally, we still do a certain amount of work in the rain, however yesterday was something else - rain on a biblical proportion.

We live about half way down a hill and so would expect not to ever get a problem with rain, floods or anything else like that. There are several springs in the woods above us and many large ditches and water courses which flow from the woods, through the surrounding fields and off to catchment and soak-away pits at the bottom of the hill.

Yesterday morning first thing I had to drive into town to do banking etc and got soaked just walking around the town. When I left home there was a few puddles etc, but on my return at about 10am, it was a different picture all together with loads of laying water and large areas of the road covered.

I was due to pick my daughter up from school at 12:30 and was amazed at the roads. We have 3 ways of getting to our house - the normal way was probably about 4 foot deep and was flowing like a river, the 2nd way has a large dip in the road - also completely full to about 6 foot and the final way is a gravel track through the woods, which without 4WD would have been impassable as this was basically now a fast flowing river too.

Luckily, one of the mums from school gave my daughter a lift to Donnington (which was also under water) and I collected her from there. Meanwhile Daughter nos 2 was stranded also but made her way to a mates house on top of the hill behind us. On arrival, his house was flooded so I spent the next few hours digging out trenches to move the water from his house and ease the flow from the drains.

All roads around us were flooded, the New Oxford Road, the A34 and the B4009. Karen the wife was on a course in Oxford and was stuck on the A34 for a few hours but managed to get off at Wantage and come the back roads - again thankfully she has a 4WD too otherwise she would not have made it through the back roads which were full of abandoned cars.

Now will the government see that people who live in the country NEED 4WD vehicles and stop persecuting us!!

I know people in Thatcham and Newbury suffered a load more than us, but I have never seen anything like this - and hope never to again.

Today its bright sunshine and you would never guess what happened yesterday - whats happening to the world - I think we should be very concerned for the future and our effects on nature.

No pictures unfortunately as my mate was due to return my camera yesterday - I'm glad he didn't even try!