Floods and those affected.

[Mitsuru]

If you have seen the news footage about the rain causing flood.
It is happening up and down the country. Are any of you guys &
girls affected buy this?

Please post and share photos if yo can. I'm not gloating on this,
but by posting you will let all of us know whats happening that
is not in the news but will have a knock on effect to the rest of
us.
Thanks

[Martin Evans]

I just posted an item called "Roll on Winter" but then saw this one and cancelled it. I am fortunate that due to the topography, the weather is unpleasant but there is no risk of flooding (When I bought my house, I even took into account being above the area likely to flood, if the reservoir at the top of the valley broke). The bad weather doesn't help the cycle trade but that's about the only thing I could add to general unpleasantness. I feel very sorry for people who have had their properties filled with s>*t.

After six years of November, I have come to expect June July & August in Britain (At least my bit of it) to be akin to being down a toilet (Now if only there was better and genuine cooperation between nations in the EU, they could move all the people, steam railways, etc out and use Britain as a tip for the rest of Europe ). When the Sun shines, theres nowhere better (Did the Summers of 1976 or more recently 2006 really happen or did I imagine them ) but when it's been crapping down for ages, it's a depressing hole. Trouble is for every fine day, you get five to ten of raw sewage. I have some friends who to moved to France last year and they were much influenced by the weather. Some of us joke about Rich's for liking Nissan Micras but we are the ones living in a stinking wet hole

All jokes aside, I feel they need to look into whether these weather (No pun intended) systems can be influenced (On a small scale the Soviets attacked clouds with acid shells, to prevent rain falling on a Mayday parade). We can't fill or cover the Atlantic Ocean or build a Rocky Mountain Chain to the west of us but I wonder whether the clouds could be diverted up before they hit land, thus depositing their cargo back whence it came Problem is, it would take one hell of a lot of barrage balloons

[Mitsuru]

mountain range aren't you forgetting a certain outcrop called Ireland and northern Ireland?
If the government had gotten it's act together decades ago when they seen the s**t hit
the fan during the 76 drought they would have done the national grid of reservoirs.
In doing the grid they could have diverted water from rivers that were at risk of causing
serious flooding and filled the bloody reservoirs or divert it where it could do no harm!

As I sat in my fathers Landrover discovery suffering with a migraine caused by the
atmospheric pressures, I was thinking this. When it did start to rain and thunder and
lightening, as I watched the car park flood as the drains could not cope with the rain
bouncing to waste hight, my migraine had gone but the lightening was hitting the hospital
it's self!

All those lightening strikes affected the power supply and telephone lines in Hartlepool,
Stockton-on-Tees, Billingham, and my village too.

I came home to find there must have been a surge, and although protected one way the
house had not been protected another! The modem and the wifi switches on the property
had acted as alternative surge protectors protecting the pc's and laptops.
I have a spare modem and had to use connectors and bypass the wifi switches, in order
to get back online.
More expense but could have been a lot worse!

[hobby]

Personally I've always liked the unpredictability of the British weather... Bit of rain doesn't hurt and if i wanted wall to wall sunshine I'd move south... Perfectly ok as far as I'm concerned, though i do sympathise with those who got flooded, something I've always looked at before buying a house...

[Martin Evans]

The Rocky Mountains cast a much bigger shadow than those in Ireland or Wales. I think it can be drier in rural eastern Gwent (Or Monmouthshire; no longer sure what it's called) or around Cheltenham (People in Tewkesbury may disagree but I think their problems come downstream from elsewhere), so there maybe some marginal rain shadow effect. In Wales, it would be a lot drier if the Millenium Stadium roof was about 20000 square miles bigger......with just a few holes for the reservoirs. I'd be happy for the guttering around the edge to be fed into reservoirs elsewhere

[rich.]

dont worry chaps its been a bit wet here since easter, so much in fact that im a month behind on my latest job.. normally we have 60 to 70 days of rain a year. aside from that the winters have been very dry & cold-20 ish.. last december it was possible to cross one river on foot.. so i suppose its natures way of catching up. nissan micras however are another subject to fantasise about later.. martin if you give up on blighty & move here if you want a friendly bycycle shop ive found one near me, a very helpful chap fixed the drive chain on my planer thicknesser...since ive returned to france 4 days ago its been cool but sunny & it rained all morning today... sun is shining now & i wont need to water the spuds etc

[Martin Evans]

normally we have 60 to 70 days of rain a year.

I think we get 60 to 70 days where it doesn't I don't mind a bit of variety; it's just wall to wall pigs poo that I dislike all the time.

[rich.]

sounds like you need a holiday mate.. sadly le mans is nearly finished but the le puy notre dame grand prix retro is coming up soon

[Martin Evans]

I could do with more time to take holidays, though being self employed has the big compensation of not having to suffer fools or ba&<*ds for bosses . With limited spare time, I take holidays pretty close to home and where weather doesn’t matter overly. Cycling in the rain is something I am used to but I hate taking the MGs out in the wet .

I plan to visit the Classic Le Mans one day (When my friends return to France from the UK, their route takes them down the Mulsanne Straight). I have been to the "Normal" Le Mans; that was before they put in all those daft chicanes. Seeing Group C cars skipping under the Dunlop Bridge or braking for the Esses at night is something I shall never forget.

My father had two cars that had driven around Le Mans. He had this Mini, which is pictured there during a holiday in 1961 (The car later had a supercharger fitted ); my parents did a lap of the circuit and clocked 55mph down the straight



Another Mini and a Lotus 7 before the above Mini, my father owned a Frazer Nash and that had lapped Le Mans for real (Not with him driving it), setting a fastest lap in class at 98mph Sold for £795



I have a few good Youtube Le Mans items saved :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_77MZ-N ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b347qLUAN0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs5b-wXt ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBVtTO_v ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thG9AeYV ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk2irKVQB4I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd9f9siB ... re=related

[rich.]

this is le puy 20 km from me, free for the spectators too. i go for a mornings entertainment...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzlbXKpUnl4