Sunday 25 November 2012

Winter Weekend

Phew,what a week! From Sunday to Friday we had an extra little friend staying with us; Robbie from Poland. As part of the exchange programme B was on last year, we hosted one of the 12 ten year olds from schools across Europe.

It was great to be part of the whole thing and Robbie was a smashing and very brave little chap. The language barrier was pretty vast though - thank goodness for Google translate (even if it wasn't always telling us quite the right things!)

So we waved goodbye on Friday morning and decided after our very busy week (of bleeugh work hassle and annoying stuff too) to take things easy this weekend. Well some of us did - Woody decided to run the annual village 10k run yesterday - the Christmas Pudding race and yes you've guessed what the prize for finishing was....
I don't know how on earth he does it or everyone else, but we do a good line in cheering, even in the pouring raining.

And boy did it rain yesterday, a good solid 15 hours of being lashed by the storm. After a slow start we gathered ourselves up after a cosy lunch of soup and fantastic bread from the London Road bakery and ventured up to the woods to see what the damage was.
Winter has arrived for certain. Hardly a leaf left hanging and everything is so dark and skeletal already. But beautiful in a stark and bare sort of way that I really love.
And there was water absolutely everywhere. Tiny trickles of water that usually we hardly notice seeping through the mossy banks, today were absolute torrents. This waterfall is usually a small dribble but look at this!
Our walk brings us out where the river and the canal run alongside but now they've overun into each other and the weir is a force of nature. The power, the speed and the noise were completely overwhelming; an amazing sight that terrified me quite a bit. We were behind a fence but I couldn't let go of our two precious boys.
When the steam train thundered past we hardly heard it over the surging water.
As much as I love the canalside houses I thought twice today about longing to live here and felt for everyone around the country washed out of their homes tonight.
 
Since April it has hardly stopped. I wonder if this much rain is going to be with us forever and perhaps we should wish for arks for Christmas?...

11 comments:

Adele said...

I do enjoy your posts. What weather!! I like the idea of arks - what an adventure that would be. However, for the first time in years, our town Christmas Fair was (mostly) held in the dry today! Thank goodness.

busybusybeejay said...

I said exactly the same to my OH about an hour ago.Perhaps we should be building arks!We live on a hill so we know we wil be ok but it must be terrifiring for so many people at the moment.It must be really scary.

Anonymous said...

Here in Northern NSW Australia, we said the very same thing - sick of the continual rain and now 6 months later we have only had 70ml in that time. So dry everywhere. I dont know what is worst! I look at your rain drenched photos with longing. Joy

Country Rabbit said...

The flooding has been quite shocking in the west country, luckily im set on a hill, but the road below was flooded on saturday and i'd never seen anything like it. Being so hilly we hardly ever flood despite the amount of rain we get. But the drains just couldnt take the amount that fell in 24 hrs it didnt stop raining!. my heart feels for those that have lost personal items, things that cant be replaced and also the cost of it b4 christmas, so sad really.
I love your photographs- that raging river and those sweet boys in the woods...oh and not forgeting the steam train. My daughter gets excited at her aunts house a she can see the steam train passing.

I really fancy soup again today, yours looks scrummy! x keep cozy x

driftwood said...

so much rain. this time two years ago we had 2 feet of snow. I can't decide which is worse.....

...Nina Nixon... said...

Hi Steph - I was wondering the same about a boat today.

Such lovely weekend pictures, but all that water.

Nina x

JacquiG said...

I've heard from my Mum how much rain you've had over there this year. Sounds like arks might not be a bad idea!!

Love the first picture, it looks so cozy.

lilac and old roses said...

I know! Where's Noah when we need him! It truly has been a wet wet year, it must improve mustn't it? Always look forward to reading your blog, Janex

Frances said...

Steph, your post features truly beautiful photographic images, but taken together with your equally fine words, I quite understand what you've been wondering about, weather wise.

You might know about the recent damage wrought in my own NYC area by rising rive and ocean waters courtesy of the October appearance of Hurrican Sandy. The aftermath photos of Sandy could never be called beauty. Yet...the devastation and sometime natural beauty do both testify to climate change.

How do some folks deny this exists? No clue here.

Best wishes.

LinenandRoses said...

I think arks may be a very good idea. We are lucky to live at the top of a pretty big hill so hopefully we won't need our this Christmas! But really thinking of everyone who has been flooded. Love the photos you share with us. You always seem to do such lovely simple family activities at the weekend. I've just given birth last week to our second little boy and as this is my first visit back on the computer for a browse around blogland in a moment of peace, yours was one of the first I wanted to visit as you too have two boys. It's funny how this blog lark makes us feel connections to people we don't even know isn't it? Well done to Woody by the way. I couldn't even manage to run to the top of our street! Fiona x

Annie Cholewa said...

It looks as soggy there as it is here. The flood plain we look out over was a sheet of blue today as the water was reflecting the sky. Let's hope you're wrong about the arks!