The floods

[InsaneApache]

As you may be aware, there has been severe flooding in parts on the UK for a month now. Over the weekend the midlands and south west joined the 'soggy' club instituted by Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in late June.

Even though the government were warned about a disastrous flood, they did little to prepare and didn't appear to understand the gravity of the situation.

Over a third of a million people have no access to drinking water. Hundreds of thousands have been forced out of their homes. In Hull 30, 000 people still living in sports centers and temporary accommodation.

But wait! Action time has come at last. Why? Because now the water is moving towards our great metrolops, London.

It might come as a surprise to those who live south of Watford Gap, but we too have flushing lavatories and electricity, televisions and the internet. Even if we do talk like monkeys.

Shortly before 6am last Monday forecasters at the Met Office’s Exeter headquarters e-mailed the Environment Agency with the first warning that “a serious weather event” was likely to hit England on Friday.

With weeks of rain across the country leaving ground sodden and rivers at unseasonably high levels, whichever area bore the brunt of the storm brewing over the Atlantic was likely to face the most severe flooding.

By Wednesday morning the forecasters had narrowed down the expected location to the M4/M5 corridor in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle2120927.ece

If Kensington and Chelsea had been under 6 ft. of water, you could bet your last penny more would have been done. Shameful inaction from the government.

[Mikeus Caesar]

I'm rather ticked off about this as well. Us northern monkeys were flooded, and it was a week before anyone mentioned it down South. The only place were it got any real coverage was on the local news, Look North. Heck, at one point a dam was at risk of bursting, and did you hear about that being main news nationwide? No!

And now a few thousand fields are flooded and some poor Southerners go without water and the news channels won't shut up about it.

[English assassin]

If Kensington and Chelsea had been under 6 ft. of water, you could bet your last penny more would have been done. Shameful inaction from the government.

What, you mean like building the Thames barrier, for instance? Point taken

And now a few thousand fields are flooded and some poor Southerners go without water and the news channels won't shut up about it

As it happens my brother lives in the worst affected bit of Worcestershire (which to my mind is not the south BTW). Its a bit more than a few fields being flooded.

Anyway, when Hull was flooded that was all over the news, and, come on, HULL !!!

[Husar]

Well, you could celebrate the end of the nanny-state. I heard it's a bad thing.

[InsaneApache]

Well, you could celebrate the end of the nanny-state. I heard it's a bad thing.

Not quite the same as receiving a fortnightly giro though, is it?

The first duty of a government is the safety of it's population. Unless you live outside of London of course.

[English assassin]

The first duty of a government is the safety of it's population. Unless you live outside of London of course.

If you can call it living...

[InsaneApache]

If you can call it living...

Well you got me there mate.

[Slyspy]

I object to Gloucestershire etc being called "The South". They are not, and we don't want them to be. They are practically Welsh over there!

I think everyone was kind of hoping that Hull would be washed away or left underwater like one of those lost villages. The newshounds lost interest when this proved not to be the case.

[KukriKhan]

Worcestershire in jeopardy? Now this gets international.

I depend on their sauce for 30% of my cooking recipes. Do you fellas need the 101st Airborne to drop by?

[English assassin]

Worcestershire in jeopardy? Now this gets international.

I depend on their sauce for 30% of my cooking recipes. Do you fellas need the 101st Airborne to drop by?

You will be pleased to hear that the Lea and Perrins factory is up a hill in Worcester. Unless the floods assume biblical proportions, you should be OK.

More importantly though, only 30% ?????

[Pannonian]

Methinks IA isn't getting the sympathy he was hoping for. Schadenfreude is an English word that we taught to the Germans.

[KukriKhan]

More importantly though, only 30% ?????

Had to tone it down after marrying Mrs. Kukri; her love of 'sweet and light" trumps my love of smokey-earthy, for the sake of domestic tranquility.

Good to hear L&P is safe for now. Some obviously forward-thinking plant siters there.

[Marshal Murat]

What is the deal with governments and floods?
They just can't get it right.

UK, New Orleans, Noah.

[drone]

How bad did Lincs get it? I wonder if my previous residence is under water...

[InsaneApache]

Where in Lincs. did you live? Scunthorpe?

Or those well known English towns, Boston and Newark?

[drone]

Where in Lincs. did you live? Scunthorpe?

Or those well known English towns, Boston and Newark?

Scunthorpe? Newark? If only I could have been so lucky.

I was in Waddington, near Lincoln. I assume Lincoln is fine, being on high ground and all.

If I remember correctly, I think Derby got flooded out when I was over there, and there wasn't much on the news about it then either.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Gah! While you all sit there and complain, I took action. I just deposited five quid in aid relief to help my third world brothers and sisters in this time of need.

And I must say it made me feel good about myself. I like the thought that with this small action I may have made a difference in the life of a Briton.
Hmm, maybe I'll adopt one, I should join one of these organisations where you send a few quid every month and then you receive letters of gratitute from your adopted British foster child. Or maybe next year I'll go and do some development work there for a few months, maybe build a water well in a village so these noble people will have access to fresh water too.

[Pannonian]

Gah! While you all sit there and complain, I took action. I just deposited five quid in aid relief to help my third world brothers and sisters in this time of need.

Miserly so and so. Five quid won't even stretch to buy 2 pints in these poverty stricken parts, so the poor villagers will have to somehow pay for that second pint, and the packet of dry roasted peanuts as well. Do you understand how inadequate your donation was?

And I must say it made me feel good about myself. I like the thought that with this small action I may have made a difference in the life of a Briton.
Hmm, maybe I'll adopt one, I should join one of these organisations where you send a few quid every month and then you receive letters of gratitute from your adopted British foster child. Or maybe next year I'll go and do some development work there for a few months, maybe build a water well in a village so these noble people will have access to fresh water too.

When you say adopt a British foster child, could you actually take them off our hands? All age ranges up to around 20 should be adoptable, and we'll throw in the Burberry jackets and Nike trainers as well. They should already have the life skills they need, such as jimmying locked doors and removing alloys from parked cars, so they'll fit into society quite well. In their own variation on Parkour, they not only jump across the tops of the city landscape, but they can somersault through open windows as well, no matter how small the gap. Save the world, adopt a British child.

[Papewaio]

They should already have the life skills they need, such as jimmying locked doors and removing alloys from parked cars, so they'll fit into society quite well.

Do they set fires to the cars as well, if not then there is need for a program of to teach how to so they can integrate with French society...

[InsaneApache]

Joking apart guys, this is starting to look really bad.

The Cobra meeting came amid mounting concern the Walham station would not be saved and as many as 250,000 people would lose power and water supplies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6912650.stm

No drinkable water and no way to boil undrinkable water is not good.

The little 'uns and oldies will be the ones to suffer.....first.

[Pannonian]

Joking apart guys, this is starting to look really bad.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6912650.stm

No drinkable water and no way to boil undrinkable water is not good.

The little 'uns and oldies will be the ones to suffer.....first.

Can't they be moved elsewhere in the meanwhile? Surely the government can commandeer whatever is necessary as transport, and there is room and provisions enough for them here in the SE. If nothing else, get them to the coast and ship them down - the sea never suffers from flooding, and is always open for transport.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

The threat to London stuff is perhaps a little overblown. I picked up a copy of the Evening standard earlier as the headline was "Thames to burst banks: run for your lives!", or something to that effect, and I was understandably concerned. However, it turns out that they meant the bits of the Thames, er, not in London.

Perhaps Hull should use some of the money they get from down south to build themselves a barrage?

[Marshal Murat]

build themselves a barrage

Hmmm...
Never thought they would bring artillery near London


How serious is this? Coming from across the Pond, I've heard little about any flooding in the UK. Are we talking about Katrina bad, or what?

[Papewaio]

So with a place called Hull you'd think it would be a little better prepared for a flood...

[Samurai Waki]

Heh. I always thought it'd be Zombies that forced the Majority of People off the Island.

[English assassin]

"Thames to burst banks: run for your lives!",

That was a classic headline wasn't it? The evening standard has form for this, I remember on the day the England team were due to play a world cup qualifier abroad, the headline was "Horrific air crash: Entire world cup team burnt to death!" Turned out to have been a crash in Africa and the Congoese team, (or some other African nation)*


*Which obviously was a tragedy too, only of less immediate interest to London commuters that evening.

How serious is this? Coming from across the Pond, I've heard little about any flooding in the UK. Are we talking about Katrina bad, or what?

No, not that bad. But apparently half of Gloucestershire is without drinking water (and the first person to quote the Rime of the Ancient Mariner gets a slap). And my half formed plan to move to Tewkesbury may be on hold...

[Fragony]

The threat to London stuff is perhaps a little overblown.

Oh no it isn't. Grab a map, north sea is a big bottleneck, if all adds up be prepared to get your feet wet. We will drown with you as an act of solidarity though

[Mikeus Caesar]

Watching the news now really appeals to my occassionally sadistic tastes. Nothing better than settling down last night with a hot chocolate, watching the BBC help evacuate a family as civil defence sirens blare in the background.

Seriously though, turns out my initial view of this was seriously underestimated.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Oi, been reading my morning paper. The situation is more severe than I thought. Thankfully, all damage seems to be limited to property.



It did yield us this instant classic of a picture though:

[Ronin]

Gah! While you all sit there and complain, I took action. I just deposited five quid in aid relief to help my third world brothers and sisters in this time of need.

And I must say it made me feel good about myself. I like the thought that with this small action I may have made a difference in the life of a Briton.
Hmm, maybe I'll adopt one, I should join one of these organisations where you send a few quid every month and then you receive letters of gratitute from your adopted British foster child. Or maybe next year I'll go and do some development work there for a few months, maybe build a water well in a village so these noble people will have access to fresh water too.

I´m willing to take in some of those page 3 girls....

you know...just trying to help out...