In Praise Of...

...Logisitical Expertise! There are up to 350,000 homes that are without water in Gloucestershire. So a total of six million litres of water are being distributed each day; some as bottled water; the rest through 900 bowsers which are being refilled three times a day. Distribution is being coordinated from the racecourse where the army is assisting in coordination and distribution in military convoys.

On Wednesday, more than five million litres of bottled water were delivered and distributed at 21 centres across the county .

So with a daily average consumption of 120 million litres, there is only a fraction of the normal amount of water available, but what a fantastic effort to get it out to the county...!

Reality...

This picture is around on the website and shows Tewksbury (courtesy of Getty Images) on 22nd/ 23rd July. It is an amazing photo that shows the extent of the flooding.

The last few posts may be a bit flippant, but there are an awful lot of people round here who are affected. Many people from work got stuck on the M5 overnight, or in the office until the early hours of saturday, or are just generally struggling. The people in the closes behind us had a couple of inches of water flowing through their houses.

The water has run out due to a water processing plant in Tewkesbury being flooded. It will take a couple of days for the flood waters to subside, then a few days to restart the plant and flush new water through the system. It hasn't stayed open, but it is easy to moan. Harder to appreciate the efforts of the people who worked on the plant to keep it open; those who have worked to rescue people and to keep electricity substations open for the rest of us.

The blame game has already started on the media: it must be the fault of someone, probably the government as usual. But sometimes, nature just does it's thing, and you have to just go with it.

Priorities...

We lost the internet for 24 hours on Friday: it was difficult. No access to email, news, information, stuff you could buy but don't want to at the moment...

Today the water has run out and won't be switched on for probably around seven days... but I'm sure we'll cope no problem.

Perhaps I need to consider my priorities...

Too Little, Too Much Water...

No water for ages then way, way too much! The rain started at midnight on Thursday with a quick thunderstorm and didn't stop until about 7.00pm. Just over six inches of rain fell, according to the big tub of water sat in the garden that was empty on Thursday evening. I abandoned my car at work at friday for fear of getting it stuck on the racecourse hill and walked home. W got stuck in Nottingham, and spent the night in Derby before only managing to make it past the River Avon by mid-afternoon the next day.

So, huge amounts of rain, no way to get to the river as roads are blocked, and the drinking water will be shut off in a couple of hours as the treatment plant in Tewkesbury is flooded. And you really feel for the people who have had water pour through their homes. The water is still rising in Gloucester and Tewkesbury. THis really is big weather...

Music and Lyrics...

Ok, so I am a fan of music. I listen to it, I like it, and sometimes I need it to move me from one state (usually low) to another (generally higher one). It is more than jst being there in the background, or a soundtrack to a disco night out.

I like music, Johnny Marr with his guitar was (and still is) my hero, but I also like lyrics: they are what changes a nice tune into a fantastic song. They mean something, they allow you to remember a thing, however brief; they describe a picture, an image or a scene.

Elbow write amazing lyrics: they evoke a time and a place and transport you there immediately. And Mr. Garvey has written some truly beautiful lyrics as in Puncture Repair...

I leaned on you today
I regularly hurt but never say
I nearly wore the window through
Where was air sea rescue?
The cavalry with tea and sympathy
You were there
Puncture repair

I leaned on you today
I regularly hurt but never say
You patched me up and sent me on my way
I leaned on you today

My desert island discs would never include Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Chopin or some of the stuff spouted by the great and good who appear on the programme, but Lloyd Cole, Elbow, Scott Matthews, Snow Patrol and others really write songs that mean something, songs that matter...

Album of the Week...

By a long way! We saw him at the Cornbury Festival and he was outstanding. And the album is just as much so. The song Elusive has come well recommended by Zane Lowe, and on first listen it is just ok. But on a second listen it really is superb.

This man deserves to go very far indeed...