Spent all day at Sams' flooded house. We managed to empty her loft of the soaking wet detritus of her life. Her up there in the stench, me on the loft ladder and her dad rushing up and down the stairs with everything. These things may have needed to be sorted out, but NOT THIS WAY?

After many hours of work, we headed to our homes, me with a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine, them with a long drive ahead.

After all that work, me and MeWally have started on the wine and arranged the flowers. Sam and her dad aren't even home yet.

Sorry about your lovely home getting flooded Sam, but many thanks for the flowers and wine: feeling rather tipsy now!

As Sam and her dad get near home, Me and MeWally settle down to watching Wall-e on the IPLAYER following a decent meal. Ideal after that lovely bottle of wine

 : )

Clean Up - Monday 27.12.10

Well what a strange day!

We had planned to go around to Sams' place to help her to clean up and to fix the burst pipe. Now that's bad enough, but MeWally had developed SCIATICA a couple of weeks ago, and it was BAD. And me? I woke up feeling VERY UNDER THE WEATHER - no, I hadn't touched a drop the day before. We both turned out despite our wobblyness.

This is what greeted us.

Here it is, the DEVIL HOUSE!

That dark mark on the house front is water - A LOT OF WATER.

Sam and I sorted out the wet things that needed to be dried and salvaged. MeWally and Sams' dad got on with  manly, plumbing things. Sams' dad put on the central heating (it's OK, he's a GAS SAFE ENGINEER), which meant it was time to head back to our homes and relax. I still felt like death on a stick and MeWally felt much the same in a different kind of way.

Once home, MeWally took his screamingly painful leg to bed and I spent over 4 hours on the phone, on a 10p minute line, waiting for someone to answer. 

By 9pm, all alone with my phone and knitting, I heard a gentle tapping on our side window. It was insistent. It was rain.
So, that's it: CHRISTMAS IS OVER : (

NO ONE AT 'ZURICH' ANSWERED TONIGHT.

The battery on the phone began to conk out. I gave up and dragged my sorry arse off to its' bed.

Boxing Day Disaster - Sunday 26.12.10

Got home from the FAMILY GATHERING to phone messages. None of your happy stuff, more your MAJOR PROBLEM, PHONE THE MOMENT YOU GET THIS MESSAGE.

SO I DID.

Sams' lovely house had burst a water pipe in the loft. The FIRE BRIGADE had been out and had turned off  the flow at the roadside STOP COCK. Water had been cascading from the windows and soffits like a fountain. We grabbed torches and jumped into the car and rushed over. All this had happened at about 6pm, we got there just after 7. It was dark, and cold and the house was covered in bobbles of ice where the water had splashed and frozen as it landed. Long icicles were hanging from the guttering and the honey coloured walls were darkened with wetness and frozen to an ominous shine. The little, snow covered front lawn was all churned up where the fire service and the neighbours had searched for the stop valve cover as it hid under the snow.

WE LET OURSELVES IN.

It was dark, we couldn't switch on the lights. The place was a centimetre deep in water and still more of the stuff rained down on us from the ceiling. The neighbours followed us in. 

WE ALL STOOD, TORCHES ON, IN SILENCE. 

Sam was away for Christmas and knew nothing of all this.

WHAT A NIGHTMARE. 

A quick check through the house 

-VERY WET 

-ALL OVER.

On to a bit of making good. We bolstered between her house and her neighbours as water had moved between the two! Then we all dragged out Sams' living room carpet, it was soooo heavy that it took 5 of us to do this, then mopped the floor until it was drier. 


The electricity was disconnected apart from the downstairs sockets which were left on and were used to run a decent heater for the night.

THEN WE LOCKED UP AND CAME HOME.

Nothing else for it, but to call the insurers and then let Sam know what had happened. Christmas chocolates always help at a time like this.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE