I awoke at five when the alarm pulled me back into the world of the living, it sounded like there was a hurricane raging outside. Rain was lashing down at the back of the house. I laid for a while listening to the radio to hear the news on the damage to the country from the storm.
I went downstairs, fed the cats and made a cup of coffee. Feeling slightly more human after just the 5 hours sleep (damn you MOTD and beer!). I went out to the car and so began the exciting drive to Preston, kent. Now, it takes just half an hour tops, on a normal day to get to the butchers, but today I thought might be different. Having just gone six, the petrol station at the Duke of York's was open, so I filled up, whilst all around the wind and rain swirled. Under the Guston bridge, deep floodwater had gathered, but as it always does this i knew it was there so had slowed down.
I tootled along at 50mph, all the way to Sandwich, the wind still howled but little by little the rain eased. There was standing water in places, but none too bad. Once I took the Canterbury road the rain eased more, and so by the time i took the Nash turn it had almost stopped. There was a car in front of me,so I let them test how deep the regular floods along the road were. As he got through, i trusted that I could, and in the end none of the floods were deep enough for concern.
I got to the butchers to find three of them waiting and no customers; I suppose people thought it better to wait until the storm passed before going out. Maybe I should have done that, too? Anyway, we were all in good spirits, I picked up my order, paid and headed back out onto the pale light of dawn. At home i saw that one of the roof panels from the shed was missing; not much I could do about that, other than go upstairs to see if I could see it. No luck, it could be anywhere from in next door's garden to Deal or beyond. We shall have to go to B&Q to get a replacement after the festivities.
Despite knowing the road was OK, I took the longer one to Wingham before doubling back to Sandwich, just as it meant driving along better, more travelled roads, and the less chance of floods.
Once home I switched the computer on so I could let Jools know how things were as she was going to try to get a train back. London Underground was mostly unaffected, and there were just trains to Ashford from St Pancras. This I told Jools on the mobile and that I could go and pick her up from Ashford if needed.
I went back out to find a fruit and veg shop, as the two farm shops on the way home from Preston were still closed at seven. I headed to Cherrytree in town and found a parking space. So it was a short walk in the rain to the shop, and I managed to get the few things I needed to complete the meal.
And back home again for breakfast, and to wait news from Jools. She got to St Pancras and got on a crowded train to Ashford, and that was as far as it was going, as the line beyond to dover must have still been flooded or blocked. So I set off to pick her up.
I drove down Jubilee Way to see if there were queues for the ferries, but it seemed very quiet; one was just docking as another headed out into the Channel, and the A20 had a few lorries, but no the Operation Stack I was expecting. At least traffic was light up to Ashford, although it was still raining and there was plenty of spray about. That does not excuse the idiots driving around at 90mph and with no lights on.
I got to the station with a couple of minutes to spare, and I had hardly parked the car before Jools came out. Christmas could now begin.
We drove back at 50mph, as we were in no hurry; back to Dover and then up Jubilee Way along the Deal Road and home. It was a relief to know we were home and not needed to go out again.
What better than a cup of coffee, a generous slice of Christmas Cake and a sit down looking at the grim weather outside.
That day I made mince pies and sausage rolls, and it is these we had for dinner once it had gotten dark. If we were not ready for Christmas now, it was too late.....
No comments:
Post a Comment