Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel that the South West has been abandoned (long and ranty)

537 replies

zeezeek · 05/02/2014 18:44

My family still live in Cornwall and they have been completely battered by the wind and the rain for weeks now. Last night they had to be evacuated from their house. The main train line down to Cornwall (in fact also half of Devon) is completely destroyed and a lot of prime agricultural land in Somerset is under water.

People are losing their livelihoods and they have been lucky that there have been no loss of life. In a region where there is already high unemployment - the impact on the farming, fishing and tourist industries will just make the situation worse. Freight trains can no longer get down past Exeter.

The EA are effectively blaming the poor buggers who are affected by this and seemingly forgetting that people and homes are also affected. The government doesn't give a shit and the Environment minister didn't even bother taking a pair of wellington boots with him on his photo opp visit. Our future King made silly comments about how a disaster beings people together while his waste of space daughter in law spends taxpayers money jetting off to the Caribbean. Comments in sensible, intelligent newspapers are also blaming people for daring to live on a flood plain (which has never flooded to this extent) and by the sea.

I know that I am BU, but tonight - when my parents are still not allowed home and my brother has had his fishing boat sunk - I am feeling very, very pissed off with the media who seems to be making such a big deal out of a 2 day tube strike - there are buses.

Sorry, but needed to vent. Have nothing against Londoners - I lived there for years.

OP posts:
wetaugust · 11/02/2014 16:22

Cameron visited Dawlish today and said the line would be repaired but I really hope they resurrect the Okehapton line. Dawlish will always be too vulnerable.

HesterShaw · 11/02/2014 18:26

Very sad report from Levels just now. Big burly landlord of a pub broke down while being interviewed and talking about the devastation he's seeing.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 11/02/2014 19:08

:(

HesterShaw · 11/02/2014 19:11

And then on SW news there was a feature on injured hungry guillemots and razorbills washing up on Chesil Beach. That finished me off completely :(

They're being looked after at West Hatch in Taunton. They have indundated since before Christmas with wild animals in distress.

FamiliesShareGerms · 11/02/2014 19:18

OP, YANBU

LoveSewingBee · 11/02/2014 21:38
Sad
ForalltheSaints · 11/02/2014 21:46

This country is almost two- London/South East and the rest. Not just when it comes to reporting by the media.

HowManyUsernamesAreThere · 12/02/2014 08:27

Oh good - austerity is over! Money has now been decreed "no object" in order to help ease the floods! Everyone is saved!

Sorry for the sarcasm...

Whilst I do feel for those in flood-hit areas, the government's response has been absolutely despicable. Places have been flooded since just before Christmas. That's approaching eight weeks now. And now, with the possibility of London being affected, the government wades in, blaming the previous government and saying "money is no object" and Cameron saying he'll take charge.

What were you doing the rest of the time Cameron? Hoping it'll blow over as usual?

Yes, I speak of previous floods - Carlisle, Hull, Hebden Bridge... where were the media, the government, the blank cheques then? Of course that isn't the fault of only this government. It just goes to show that there IS a north/south divide, and to be perfectly honest I think the south would probably be happy if the north pissed off and died.

Unfortunately scientists seem to be saying that weather events like this will become more common. As if the country wasn't wet enough!

winterhat · 12/02/2014 08:54

Money is "no object" as soon as the South East and the Thames are involved.

HesterShaw · 12/02/2014 09:05

I wouldn't call it a north - south divide. I'd call it a Home Counties - Everywhere Else divide.

It's so blatant as to be almost laughable, except it's not funny.

Honeysweet · 12/02/2014 09:47

Rain forecast every day for the forseeable [at least 10 days] in the county I am in in the south west. Sad

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 12/02/2014 10:21

Where we live, we have been campaigning for ages against HS2.

No-one needs HS2, no-one outside of London wants it.

It is so much more logical to put that money (several £m) into repairing, replacing & improving train lines in the South West. We also have the M6 Toll which no-one wanted & no-one uses (as it doesn't by pass the busiest sections of road anyway).

The Dawlish section of the railway is very scenic & I am sure it is important to have it locally. It would seem to be ideal (to me anyway), if that line could be repaired & restored for local trains and an inland route be created for freight trains, intercity trains etc. etc. Cornwall is already quite isolated (that is one of it's many charms Smile) but there really does need to be more than one route in and out in this day and age.

I have been watching the news updates about the floods in the SW & it is truly heartbreaking. And, yes, although I don't wish flooding on anyone, I did find the focus on the home counties flooding & the sudden rush of action that followed it extremely cross-making. Of course they should have help & support. But so should those in the SW - 2 months ago!

Grrr. My thoughts are with everyone affected.

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 12/02/2014 10:24

And, yes, HesterShaw it can't be a north-south divide can it, as you can't get much further south than the SW. It is London-commuter-belt & everyone else.

OldDaddy · 12/02/2014 10:30

Well according to the snivelling sh*ts who run the insurance companies it's all "acts of god" so perhaps pop down to the church for a chat. Just so much incompetence in this country.

OneEggIsAnOeff · 12/02/2014 10:31

So much for money no object. Today it is no blank cheque.

OneEggIsAnOeff · 12/02/2014 10:33

Apparently the extra money that has been found for the DoT (600k?) is just their underspend that the treasury is letting them keep.

JadedAngel · 12/02/2014 11:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 12/02/2014 11:52

They arent bleating jadedangel, they are scared and upset like anyone would be in their situation. Just because it has been going on longer elsewhere doesnt mean that they arent suffering too.
And actually lots of properties along the Thames were flooded back in January - no media coverage then.

JadedAngel · 12/02/2014 12:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Starballbunny · 12/02/2014 12:03

Mixed emotions, today

While flooding in the SE may get the government to wake up, I have a cousin and his PG wife in Surrey in an area that may flood.

wetaugust · 12/02/2014 12:04

I thought that all the Local Authorities had civil contingency plans for 'disasters' in their area?

Why is it then that none of the Local Authorities in the Thames area seem to have had any foresight of this unfolding disaster and had no help ready?

Not limiting this criticism to the SE, the SW LAs appear to be just as bad. All I see on the TV are volunteers doing what they can.

Honeysweet · 12/02/2014 12:09

I may have missed the appropriate part of the news. But I always thought that the Government have a supply of sandbags like they have reserves of salt for when it is icy roads.
And being utterly ignorant, are there people going to the seaside and filling up bags with sand?

worldgonecrazy · 12/02/2014 16:40

I have heard back from Waitrose - this is the text of their response:

As a founder member, we are actively supporting The Prince's Countryside Fund to help those affected by flooding in the Somerset Levels. This has included putting in place a high-profile media campaign on behalf of the organisation to raise money for flood relief and other work by the fund. We are also highlighting the importance of supporting the Fund on our social media sites, in our publications and on our website. Waitrose has a long standing relationship with The Prince's Countryside Fund and a proportion of our profits from The Duchy Originals from Waitrose range goes to this charity. We will also help, however we can, any of our farmers who are seriously affected by the current severe weather.

I hope this is ok but should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

I am not sure "high profile" is the right word - I did spot it at the bottom of their website, and I have read previous "hmmm" comments about the Duchy of Cornwall.

Sainsbury's have said they have passed my comments on to the "relevant department", whatever that is.

I guess Waitrose's response is better than nothing and probably a million times better than Tesco or Walmart

Wabbitty · 12/02/2014 21:08

Whoever said that the flood defences around Tewkesbury would stop it flooding.... Tewkesbury is pretty much cut off again.

Original poster
zeezeek · 12/02/2014 21:38

Whilst I am as pissed off as most people in (or with connections to) the SW at the moment, I do think it's not really fair to blame the people in the SE for being frightened and concerned and they can't be blamed for the somewhat more rapid response of the govt to their plight compared to that of the SW.

What is, and will remain, unreasonable is that the SW and the problems that they have encountered as a result of this weather were ignored for so long.

OP posts: