Floods

Has it rained recently where you are? Bloody well has here. Thankfully the government induced 'water shortage' is over and we can use hosepipes between showers. (In case you are unaware, the cause of the water shortage in the UK is the lack of reservoir capacity. Whilst the population has grown somewhat, politicians have followed an EU edict to not increase storage capacity but, through cost increases and legislation to cause usage to fall. We need to be more efficient with our water because soon there won't be any due to global warming. No, that is seriously what they claim).

Needless to say the excessive bounty from the sky has led to flooding. Now flooding can have many causes; too much rain too quickly and existing water courses can't cope, already sodden earth cannot absorb more and so it washes over and the simple flat areas around rivers will 'flood'. The one the 'experts' like though is that patio's and decking cause floods. Well yes, because they too shrug off water.

The one thing we don't seem to hear mentioned too often though is the regularity with which planning authorities have allowed house building on known flood plains. Flood plains are those areas near rivers that are prone to inundation when rivers exceed their usual capacity. So whether it is falling for some obvious scam, like 'climate change', or allowing building in dangerous places, government incompetence and lack of oversight or care, are behind most of our problems.

And it's just started raining again.......

Raining Again

Today is the worst day for rain since the continual precipitation started the day the hose pipe ban was called. I don't drive far to work, but it involves a bit of dual carriageway and that helps to throw interest into the journey. A BMW M3 convertible slots in, in front of me just before the slip road to the dual, without indicating. It takes the slip and joins the dual, all without any indication despite traffic being quite heavy and with the distraction of the rain. But this is a safe driver, because the car does no more than 50 on the 'big' road. What a dope (in the real, English sense)!

Doesn't Jeremy Hunt strike you as a Lib Dem? He does me. But he isn't, apparently, he is a Conservative, though I would guess he is of the David Cameron, lottery winner variety as opposed to the servant of the people politician. He has a good family background, impeccable education -all very much respectable and to be respected - but then went off the rails by becoming a Management Consultant.

I suppose once he had been in an industry that prides itself on being paid to talk about stuff, rather than achieve anything, politics was an obvious later choice. Naturally, he has been in PR too though the thing which flopped, but for which he should get some respect, was selling marmalade to Japan. Now he appears to have been up to no good in a way reminiscent of New Labour. A true political chameleon.

I see the recent massive lottery win by a Scottish fellow has allowed him to donate £1 million to Alex Salmond (or his party, I'm sure). Clearly, a fool and his money are easily parted.