Back from the floods

Got back from my journey away at about 8.25am on Saturday morning. Having flown back to Birmingham sharing in a funeral of a fine old gent from the Isle of Man, I got caught up in the problem of the floods. At first the railway authorities seemed incapable of offering any guidance and I am sure many went to hotels in despair. Eventually, they did engage with us albeit with empty promises for some time. These were delivered in a manner that made Comic Ali appear convincing. Still in the end, they got the help of some taxi drivers. I was in a group that went to Exeter. The journey was awful with hard, low seats - in my case facing out at the back. We saw some real signs of devastation. Thankfully due to the rather feisty driving of our taxi driver, we managed after several turning backs and diversions way of the normal route, to get back to Exeter. He was quite a hero!

I have some gripes with the railway authoroties at Birmingham and Virgin for their poor communication. The manner of the Birnmigham police suggested that a week at a Charm School somewhere in their training, would be a good thing!

Still, I am lucky. Having missed a complete nights's sleep after two nights in which the task before me, interruped my sleep, I am now getting over my tiredness.

Sadly, the images on the News show that for many a nightmare experience is far from over. They need all the help they can get and should be very much in our prayers.

Ultimately, there will be lessons to learn. The reality of climate change is becoming ver clearer and will need to be reflected in public policy. It is also to be hoped that new housing on flood plains will be minimal and flood defences will be a major priority.