THE SOLUTION IS THE PROBLEM

There has been much in the news recently about floods in Britain.  Mostly this has arisen because it just won't stop raining! 

There are basically two aquifers in England - the chalk in the south east, and the sandstone that runs from the west up to the north-east, both very porous and usually sufficient to drain the water away after rain.  These aquifers are now however up to 95% saturated.  There is fast becoming nowhere for the water to go.

This is my village green yesterday:

And this is the view of the south as we came back over the South Downs later in the day.

But we haven't had it as bad as some others.  The other reason the floods have been newsworthy is that the Somerset Levels have been flooded since Christmas.  They are having a really tough time, with several villages completely cut off and turned into islands.  This is one view of Somerset that appeared in the media.

And this was a pic that caught my eye of further up the coast, during one of the recent storms.

 

But more is yet to come.  This is the current flood warning map.

 

Maybe the climate is changing a little bit?

But the solution is not so easy.  There have always been water meadows in UK - where rivers are allowed to overflow each year and relieve the pressure on the towns downstream.  We used to live in Pulborough where the Avon overflowed into meadows and rose up to our door steps regularly, but frankly without our having much concern.  But I was quite shocked when a builder applied for planning permission to build houses in the water meadow behind our house.  They were turned down, but I understand there were 66 other such applications last year that gained approval.  Although they contract to build up the river defences to protect the new houses, do they have no idea where all that water is then going to go?

So the solution (pun intended) is complicated.  Many of those living in Somerset have been vociferously complaining that dredging has not been sufficient in the rivers.  But the Environmental Agency claim that dredging has been undertaken.  Then I was struck by The Wetlands Trust and RSPB opposition to dredging as destroying the natural environment in the area.  There is also the problem that the water has to have somewhere to go.  When vast swathes of the country go under water, dredging just makes the water deeper.  There are currently pumps removing something like a million gallons a day from the area, but it is being pumped of course into the river.  But it still keeps raining and, as I have said, the land just can't absorb any more water at the moment.

The problem is sadly going to be with us for a little bit longer.  With more heavy rain predicted for the weekend, here is a map showing this year's rainfall so far.

The white bits are where rainfall has been more or less normal; the blue bits are where it has been higher than usual, up to the black areas where it has been 225% of normal!  I live in the middle of the black bit at the bottom.  Despite the experts' scepticism, I think maybe we ought to just get on and dredge.  It will at least cheer up the poor residents affected by the floods a little (not much, since I fear they will then complain that it is too little too late).  And it will perhaps reduce the water level enough to let the houses dry out before the winter proper.  But I fear Mother Nature has the last word.  The only consolation I suppose is that stranded villagers haven't been forgotten and that, so far, the temperature has been quite mild.  Frost and snow is still to come . . .

NOT A DROP TO DRINK

I went back to Guildford at the weekend to see the car park I posted a picture of a little while back -

It's hard to imagine that that water is up to the roofs of cars in the car park.  Here it is now:

 

It's still running pretty fast, mind you, but not in such a volume.  You can see the water tide mark on the mill.

And in town you can see the signs of the impact.  These shops are mostly closed or gutted.

On a happier note, I used the park and ride which is a local secret - free parking and a free bus every 15 mins to the town centre!  As you can see, it's not yet well-known . . .

Even the bus stop at the bus station (for the return journey) has a local produce feel to it.

WYKEHAM WANDERERS

We went over the weekend to Guildford.  It seems to have been raining a lot even here.  You will have seen shocking photographs of the floods in various parts of Britain.  I used to blog on climate change at one time; maybe I should start again.  This is the river at Guildford.




The usual quiet stream was a raging torrent.  It still had some way to go before it might flood, but it was a frightening volume of water.

It was the same story at Winchester yesterday.  This is the millrace. - always fierce, but rarely this high.




But in Winchester, for the first time, we managed to get into the College.  So here are a few pics for you.  This is the inner courtyard (with a scholar crossing to the studyrooms).

 

Everywhere we went was history.  As you may know, Winchester is the oldest continually running school in Britain, having been teaching top scholars since it was built in the 14th century. This is the Scholars Dining Room.  As you see, the scholars have the privilege of music whilst the eat.  But I was amused by the guide's description of the room - 'these benches are new; the original ones were less sturdy, so these were commissioned in 1643'.  Yes, very new!


 
And it was fascinating to see the students' graffiti.  This was the oldest one I found.

 

And we were able to see the College chapel.



As you can see, the altarpiece statues were almost as good as when they were carved almost 900 years ago.  Apparently, when Oliver Cromwell's men came through, he put an officer in charge of the College who was an old boy and he made sure the college was undamaged.  So, much of the original woodwork and statuary (and some documents) were saved, whilst the Cathedral suffered the same fate as other churches throughout the country.

Here is a section of the choir where the younger choirboys sit.



Not much space to park larger bottoms!  Note the obscure college names labelling the seats.

The Cathedral Christmas market was also in full swing, with lots of interesting local artefacts, like gluwein and bratwurst.  There was also an ice rink which looked very attractive in this setting and was fun to watch.