Re: the flooding north of England

[MrsSocks]

Living in a small village that is now essentially an island having been cut off by water, I just want to say what amazing community spirit and support I have witnessed in the last few hours! People coming together and help eachother out in the most extreme of ways, businesses opening to offer overnight shelters, emergency services working tirelessly, and strangers offering to go above and beyond to help those in need. Thank goodness we can still have some faith in humanity

How are you surviving this latest downpour himh. We've had it bad, still raining now. I think it's rained for 24 hours.

On Sunday my husband had a small stroke and was admitted to hospital. It's been just about manageable under normal ( ish) conditions here . I dread to think how I would have coped with hospital visits in adverse conditions and coming back to a house that was all tipped upside down.

I remember after leaving him there late Sunday night driving home and thinking thank god it's not icy or snowing as you'd usually expect here.

Hope you are feeling better himh.

Yes hope the chest is getting better

My bit of Cumbria has been fairly dry , hope yours has been too himh

Well things were pretty scary Boxing Day but we escaped the worse, and things have been quiet for a while.
I am more resigned to the situation now. Not so tearful. I am still coughing though.
The EA asset manager responsible for our rivers is coming next week and we are going to walk around the bunds. I am the lead flood for my village.

I have been going around the village this week researching the direction the water came from. If they are going to plan for the future the EA aught to know what happened.
They don't seem to have been to actually speak to anyone.

To be honest the present situation is not entirely their fault as there have been quite dramatic cuts over the years, both in terms of budgets and staff. I just hope some money will come our way. 50 million is really a small sum to go round us all.
Towns are also more protected than rural villages.

Being in a rural position there are less of us and so less money is spent on our defence.
I heard some pitiful stories this week. A farmer near me was trying to move his young heifers with a trailer. They had 27 to move and were are up to their waists in water. They had to move them one by one. The description of trying to save these poor animals from drowning was nothing short of heroic.
Heifers don't meekly get into a trailer and then allow them selves to be pulled along. They jump out of course.
I don't know how they managed to do it in the dark and cold. But they saved them. A flock of sheep were not so lucky.
The poor sheep around here who are alive are ankle deep in mud. There is
no dry ground. They are susceptible to lameness. I feel so sorry for them.

I watched a flock yesterday in an absolutely sodden field of turnips. They were caked in mud and were squelching around. There were many already lame. Poor poor things. I hate to see them suffering.

Anyway I am not so bad. At least I am not cold and wet and forced to eat muddy turnips, ha!

Poor sheep. Are RSPCA helping?

'walk round the bunds' reminds me of the Bengali Sunderbund: It is a world heritage marshy area on the Ganges delta where rice and jute grows and the tiger roams. Apparently very beautiful. Not that I have ever been there. Amitav Ghosh wrote a book about it, very well written.

I expect you are taking photographs. They will be useful and sometimes those with knowledge can tell lots from photos

The cough should have gone by now. What does your doctor say?

This has been an enlightening thread to read, and the fortitude and charity of people is humbling.

The plight of the animals wrings my heart. Not that in any way humans are less valuable, but we humans put the beasts there and they must be helped, and the efforts of the farmers to ease their misery makes me think it's not just the money involved; they are living creatures.

We're in the Midlands and have been very lucky, you have been in our thoughts, and many people have wondered if there is anything we can do to help.

Well anyone can help by contributing to the Lancashire or Cumbria flood relief fund.

Thanks for your kind words everyone.
Someone commiserated with me today and I found myself in tears. ( damn)

It is the thought of all the effort in front of us.

I hate to see animals suffering. My neighbour had to have her horse destroyed her horse. It had stood in water for almost two days and had an infection. It almost broke her heart.

Anyway, I am trying to be positive but it was raining today. You get to dread the rain.
The RSPA cannot get around the farm animals and all the fields are soggy around here. There is nowhere for them to go . Poor things. Farmers should treat the lame ones though.

I saw a story at levens or Lyth valley of a missing horse who had swam out when the stable door was opened, found when the water went down caught in next doors fence. Very sad.
Have you seen the drone footage that someone fromSalford Uni has compiled? It shows chunks of Cumbria under water but you can see what looks like small rivers across the land what usually must be streams very interesting how they flow.

Still waiting to hear from insurance assessor re DD car, which was written off in Boxing Day floods
Lent her some money to buy a run around for now, as she needs to get to work - not great public transport as we are quite rural - also she works shifts

So upsetting to see and read about the animals.

I see a lot of people are rubbing Vicks vapour rub onto their feet overnight for their persistent cough. Put a pair of woolly socks on.

I remember my parents did something similar when I had whooping cough aged 5. My Scottish grandad had my mum put garlic on my feet. Apparently I never coughed again after that. These days for a nasty cough I whizz white onion , garlic , apple cider vinegar and organic honey ( manuka better but expensive) in a blender. Have a spoonful every hour. I also put kombucha tea in it as its full of probiotics but I suspect most people won't have anything like that. Its very good . It stopped DH cold in its tracks. Unfortunately it did not prevent him having a stoke. Sadly.

I saw a lady with white hair on tv. I think she was from Cumbria . She said she had to take her house off the market. She was at a meeting. I thought of you himh.

We've had a lot of rain over here. My roof still leaks and can't get hold of he roofer. It's on aback burner while we sort DH out.

So many people have suffered . It's a national crisis.

I read knobbly that 50 muslim from Birmingham went to Cumbria to help out.

I thought that was a heart warming gesture.

I've seen a few Muslim groups offering help all over.

Hmm...personally I like to know the detail of what people who helped actually did.
Presumably a lot of groups from a areas of the community have offered help. Lets hear it as to who actually were the most helpful. Also, perhaps, the affected communities could useful publicise what help is needed most from volunteers.

eg...so and so village needs such and such help to do such and such please come on such and such dates: provide your own transport, tea and sandwiches. bring your own waterproofs and wellies. mustering point so and so

Or delete 'village' and substitute 'farm'

funny there's FB groups for each area doing that.

Thank you wetopre I thought there might me.

Omg another flood warning last night. The river was almost up to the same level as the 5th of December. I cried through the stress of this.

My dear husband is so stressed. I can't bear him suffering.
The drains are blocked and backing up and there is no one who will come on on a Sunday. Even to take a look.

Only if your life is in danger will any Agency respond. Never mind about your mental health.
I am so sick of this.
We are waiting for a Surveyer, and waiting and waiting. I don't think living in a mouldy damp house is doing my chest much good.

I am not moving out until the plaster has to be hacked off. My BIL came home to his house from seeing a pantomime, to find his house had been totally ransacked by a burglary, last night.
And there is more that I can't mention.
Can it get any worse. I feel sorry for me.

Oh dear I see why you aren't moving out if you are worried about burglaries

But your health and wellbeing comes first before your home even imo

Anyway here is lots of virtual sympathy - I cant help by going up there at all but I do send virtual hugs and hot tea and cakes.

Sewage is a public health risk so report it to Public Health England if you haven't already done so

I hope your kitchen is functional. I wonder what the quality of the tap water is like.

Is it possible to take it in turns to stay home, just to get a couple of dry days each?

My house is old, large and fairly isolated and I have been burgled before.
The house is damp even though the heating is on full blast. My cough is getting better now, I think.
My kitchen although wrecked is functional. I also have a combi Microwave.

We have to wait here for visits and phone calls, until we get the go ahead from a specialist Surveyer. However If all the 8 ( some small and some large) rooms down stairs have to have the plaster hacked off to a metre high then we will have to move out and the furniture put into store.
The thought of packing up everything is giving me a headache. If we ever get to move, I am going to live in a ONE BED MODERN FLAT

The Chairman of the Environment Agency, Sir Phillip Dilley has resigned because he didn't come home from his holiday home in Jamaica during the height of the floods. Don't feel sorry for him though, as he has 10 Directorships.

I think I would have preferred him to stay on and sort things, as his temporary successor is Emma Howard. At least he was trained as an engineer, her background is in Financial institutions.

Haven't forgotten you ;-)

Are you feeling better himh?

Same here. Still thinking of you and everyone still suffering with little or no help from the government and associated bodies. Shocking. I have friends in Yorkshire and the community support and involvement has been astonishing. Reached £1miilion this week in donations I believe. I am so sorry many areas have nowhere near as much support, albeit funded by joe public.

Well I am still coughing. My DCs who are Doctors, but don't live nearby, say it is time to see my own GP. I have been away from home for 7 days, so I will go when I get back.

I have done some useful work with the villagers, who I love.

I have Huge heaters and de humidifiers in the house. They make a racket.

We are months away from the house being sorted. I love my house to bits, but now I feel like burning it down. However the insurance Agencies know all the scams. Also I have done very little that is illegal in my life. I sometimes would like to shoplift in shops that have massive price tags but have always been too frightened of being caught.

I also did inhale once, when I lived in London, just to try it. Coughed my guts out and couldn't bear being stoned. I also hate being drunk. One Martini and I would be anyone's. ( not good)

My DH and I are weary and have a feeling of being in limbo. Probably everyone who has been flooded feels the same.
Generally, I have stopped crying though.
Thanks for all the good wishes they are very much appreciated. Xxx

Oh himh. Just dreadful. Seen the pics of the latest glenridding floods.
can't believe ut.