anotherbanana

Help is at hand, just in time judging by the quick rise in water level. Rain slated to start easing after 1600 hrs today. Inshallah

Rain has not stopped but perhaps a little less severe and level of flooding has dropped a little but still precious close to the house. Last night the electricity went off but I was able to isolate the problem and get it on again; the freezer and the washing machine had both got wet. Whether they will eventually dry out remains to be seen. If not, anyone want a load of raspberries and apple purée, frozen veg, meat of all kinds? We have just received yet another warning from the préfecture via our telephones telling us that there is more to come today, rugger it. Still we both have plenty of books and puzzles to keep us busy plus Airfix HMS Ark Royal. But the sky is very grey and unfriendly, the stream is a raging torrent as any rain falling flows away because the land is saturated; the main river, the Canche cannot take any more and high tides are stopping its flow into the sea. So the flood spreads; driving round yesterday on higher ground it was amazing to see how much land is flooded. This will take a long time to clear. Civil defence was active during the night on big tractors I think making sure that nothing was blocking the course of the river or bridges so that there was not a build up of pressure. When I was a kid we were travelling on a coastal road south of Durban during a violent and extended storm, crossing bridges as we went; not only did our old Austin Sheerline have a bow wave but the radio reported that the bridges were getting washed away behind us. Caused by vegetation and sugar cane waste tipped into the rivers and pushing against the supporting pillar and breaking them. One of the bridges was a combined road and rail bridge and very old; it just disappeared though a ship off the Natal coast reported seeing anstrange structure miles out to sea. Heigh ho, Xmas coming.

That is a light sandy brown!😵‍💫

Pi**ing down , stream is a wide an raging torrent house close to flooding, basement flooded, washing machine and freezer in grave danger.

Getting out my water wings, it is getting close!

Looks like the Senate is trying to improve things, at last, long term visas. Hold your breath guys https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/French-news/49-French-senators-back-flexible-rules-for-second-home-owners

Well, I have been laying in wood and trying to convert to cubits but the local builder’s merchant think I am nuts. Then of course there is the selection of folk and animals. Fortunately I have only a small family but Oiseau’s is pretty extensive. But, how the heck do I choose the animals? Obviously the useful ones, but what about mole rats or even aardvarks (even if they are totally beautiful)? And rats, scorpions, bed bugs? Yes, it is bl**dy raining here; yesterday I wondered if I was actually going to get home again after finding out that my big local Leclerc was flooded or had lost its roof and that two of the routs back were shut as flooded and the last was being directed by very brave civil defence folk so as to stop cars flooding themselves. So, if you wanna build an Ark, pop up here ……. if you can!

OK, a bit of fun, I hope, in these damp damp times.

Glad folks seem to be unscathed; a nasty severe late autumn moment. At least it is not cold. Round here, lots of rain and wind, localised flooding, some damage to buildings, fair few trees down. Now we have a moment of sunlight. I feel sorry for the kids who can’t really enjoy half term and for the grand parents that have to entertain them.

Get Google mail, abandon Orange; I have used gmail for years and it is well protected (touch wood).

Looks as if the tree was not too big so the hull of the boat might be untouched; the superstructure can easily be replaced. Looks like a traditional flat bottomed Loire river boat, a very square design and tough enough to bang into and onto sandbanks and the like.

Barometer at about 1400hrs. Never seen it so low.

Gardian and others, it is blowing nicely here over 100 kph in gusts, bushes and trees bending well over; no obvious signs of damage, touch wood. Electricity was off for a while but back on at the moment. Little rain. I took one look this morning and went back to bed, but now back to Airfix. Everyone else OK so far?

https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-a. ageing South Africa will most likely have followed the US.

As you are getting very old, Norman, could you not dictate your posts and other stuff though Mindy might get jealous!

Odd, I thought you were a robot! 🤣

agEing, please, Norman!

Well, that was quite a match, not elegant or beautiful and with little running rugby but did RSA deserve their win? I dunno. Undoubtedly they stifled the All Black backs and seemed to have something extra at the line outs. Did decisions by the refereeing ‘panel’ make a difference? Some of the decisions seemed very marginal to me; if a player grabs the ball and runs into an opponent how can that be a penalty or a card? And how can one be penalised if he falls accidentally backwards over the outstretched leg of another in a maul? Time to review the rules methinks!

How many Barretts make a team?

If anyone is in Brittany and has the time and patience you might be interested in finding these which look amazing, imnvho. https://www.maisonapart.com/edito/construire-renover/gros-oeuvre-construction/odorico---a-la-decouverte-de-la-mosaique-art-deco-2804.php

Do you mean a clean to factory reset? I think this wipes everything on an Ipad but for the rest I have no idea.

The hostility between Palestine and Israel has mutated from political to military over a period of time to pure hatred, on both sides; one reads the most awful words spoken against the other by both sides ( leaving aside the acts for the moment) which words lead to the current violence.

Wikipedia definition, if you are any wiser, do tell! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech The problem is that some folk and societies have such entrenched ideas that it is impossible to discuss with or reason with them without it being seen as a personal or group attack and therefore hate speech. So, the term is used for people to hide behind. To avoid any current examples I suspect that any discussion of Franco’s regime would have been seen as hate speech and, perhaps, any discussion of the Thai monarchy. By the way, if I call someone a liar is that hate speech?

The French took Madras off the British in 1746; I had assimed they held it but it seems they gave it back later but did they leave a cooking heritage, therein lies the question?

Is that the original name for Pondicherry? What about Madras?