More flood updates (by alaric)

Firstly, Sarah's fallen ill too. Throwing up lots. We took her to the doctors who said that hopefully it'd pass in a day or so, and to get in touch if it didn't, or if it got worse.

Secondly, the good news, the insurance people will happily replace all the damaged stuff from downstairs, and gave us £200 up front to cover short-term emergency living expenses!

We’re under Sixteen Inches of muddy brown water (by sarah)

This was writen off line on Saturday:

Ok well I think it was only about 6 inches but that doesn't fit with the Nick Cave lyrics ok.

We are a site of total devistation, having seen the pictures of yesturday when Al got back from dropping me and Jean off - it is a very good job I wasnt here as it would have been very very scary I think. Last night I ended up staying up until 3 am looking for our insurence stuff but have a horrible feeling it might be part of the BIG SOGGY and so I'll have to try and find out which policy wer're on the hard way.

The carpet is beyound salvage with grit and mud oozing from it with every squelching foot fall. The paint and plaster are bubbling off of the lower parts of the walls, I havent dared look in the brown seat were we keep such things as sacks of sugar, rice and cat biscuits.

Synthia the draft excluder is in a very sorry shape and has been taken away by a neighbour to try and salvage - I've had that snake since time in memorial and it is the brethren of the one that lived in the house of one of my nans neighbours - they bought Synthia for me as a sort of please leave our carpet snake alone, presant.

Sigh - I think the worse bit was fishing all the soaked Jean toys out of the mire - they should pretty much all wash out but there was something somehow devastatingly poignant about soggy floppy rabbits and teddies that have water running out of them when you pick them up.

There is still no power down stairs though we have light and thanks to a solid fuel fire - heat. We've spent most of the day trying to find homes for all the things off of the funiture so that we could move the funiture so that we could rip up the capet which is harder than you'd think especially when it turns out the radiators are on top of the carpet and we are struggling to see an easy way to dismount the heaters.

I was releived to see that our extensive book collection had all survived - well it had right up until one of the kittens knocked a stack of books waiting for transport up the stiars into the muddy squelch! I was not happy especially as it coped one Anne Rice, one C.J. Cherry and an Asimov 🙁 (since this was written I also found a Clive Baker and Nivan book awash :()

I think we're defenitly in for the long hull with this one 🙁

In the news (by alaric)

BBC local news report on the flooding around here

Flood updates (by alaric)

Well, on Saturday night, Jean started projectile vomiting in a big way. Over the course of a few hours. So on Sunday her grandparents came and picked her up, to take here to Essex, away from muddy water and biting flies. And contaminated tapwater, since it turns out that water treatment plants had flooded; they say we should boil all water now.

And since the reservoirs are emptying, and they can't fill them up again with the treatment plants flooded, they may turn off the mains water. When this was announced, there was rioting in supermarkets over bottled water stocks.

Sigh...

Flood pictures (by alaric)

Here are the pictures to go with the last post.

The journey home

Arrival

When the waters receded