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Measuring in cubits


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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!

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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.

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Well done, Wooly.  You have kept up your resistance and courage!

I watched the news closely and Darmanin said the rain had been a lot more and prolonged than forecast.  The weather bods said your forecast is for an improvement but that they await Monday to decide on reopening of schools, etc.

Phew!  I had a dream last night of you floating around in one of your grandchildren's rubber rings and paddling in doggie fashion.

BTW, are the doggies OK and keeping calm?

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2 hours ago, Loiseau said:

Marooned here with Wooly, having arrived yesterday for a few days; bad timing or what!?

Compare the two pix shown, and note the repositioning - by the waters - of the heavy tubs planted with hydrangeas!
 

It's a good job you are there, Loiseau.  Being waterlogged like that must be literally and figuratively an isolating experience.  Never seems as bad when you have someone to be with you and share it all.

Good Luck, you two!

Anyone else with similar flooding problems?

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Le président du club de canoë-kayak de Couëron pagayait en tête avec l’éleveuse Brenda-Lee Fourrage, qui appâtait les cinquante vaches au son de sa voix et avec du bon foin dans le bateau !

Not in Nantes, but on the Loire this herd of cows were cut off in their field with no food by floods at Coueron.  Local kayak club "tempted" them out through the flooded water onto safer ground with hay in a kayak yesterday.  50 cows saved in all, they belong to a 20 year old female farmer who feared she was going to loose the lot.  Thought it was quite a nice story.

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In all this mess, what a lovely story to read about - and such a clever idea .. leading them with food, as it were .. Brilliant!

And Woolly and Loiseau .. do hope you are OK, but being together helps to keep one sane, for sure .... it must let up soon, surely? 

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Stream has fallen quite a bit thus far and is almost back in its bed, but the road is still impassable. We went to the annual 11 Novembre memorial yesterday, through a small raging torrent. But realised to extent that the rest of the village  has been flooded with about 15 homes sinistrés and the main street bad. Amazing response from the village folk and the mairie; one big group were cleaning out houses, another offering all sorts of other help.

I have several inches of mud to remove from the front but am waiting for the next lot of rain on Tuesday to pass first. Oiseau did an amazing job cleaning the bouandrie after the water level fell for which I thank her most deeply

If anyone is interested you can look on the village facebook page; just type in Aix en Issart where there are photos of the flooding. My house is not shown but the beginning of my road is.

The freezer remains silent but the washing machine is working OK, luckily as it is flamband neuf.

Oiseau is going home tomorrow and will have to go over the hills and détour via St. Omer to Calais as our nearest access to the motorway will still likely be inaccessible. Route chosen because there are no valleys and blocked bridges.

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Those Facebook photos/videos look dreadful.  There will be so much work to try to repair what is repairable.  Flood damage is very hard to repair.

Best of luck to Oiseau on her journey tomorrow.  I hope she will not encounter any problems.

Hopefully the freezer will come back to like after a long dry out.

Hope this is the end of it.

 

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