and the rains continue...

The Brits always have more than their fair share of conversations about the weather, but at the moment it does seem justified. The weather has truly been appalling this year, we have faced many floods already due to heavy downpours and yet the sky is more often than not grey and looming.

According to today's Telegraph, more than 500 flood warnings and alerts were in place yesterday, with the Environment Agency warning home owners in North-East England and North Wales to “remain vigilant” in the face of further heavy rainfall.

Picture: REUTERS/Darren Staples 

Forecasters said up to 2.73in (70mm) of rain, nearly a month’s worth, could fall in the North of England, with temperatures expected to drop sharply by the end of the week. Further persistent rain is predicted in Wales, the North and the East today. Surface water, slow to drain from saturated ground, could prove treacherous when combined with freezing conditions later in the week.

Picture: Robert Timoney / Rex Features

Three people died in flooding over the weekend. A 21-year-old woman was crushed by a falling tree and a 50-year-old man fell into a canal. John McNair, a 77-year-old retired company director, also died after his 4x4 vehicle was wedged under a bridge in a swollen ford following heavy rain in Chew Stoke, Somerset.

Picture: Paul Kingston / NNP

Fire and rescue services have received hundreds of calls to flood incidents, with the AA reporting hundreds more breakdowns as a result of the wet conditions. Many roads were closed or impassible, or downright dangerous to travel on causing hours of delays.

Some residents kayaked down the streets of Malmesbury, Wilts, while some home owners in Williton, Somerset, sealed their homes from 2ft of encroaching water using Plasticine. The RSPCA has reported more than 500 calls from people worried about animals in danger since Thursday. Officers yesterday rescued a horse, sheep and a chihuahua from a cut-off farmhouse, whilst residents in Broadway, Worcestershire, were being warned to boil their tap water amid fears that it could have been contaminated by floods and emergency supplies of bottled water were being distributed to more than 2,000 homes.

Luckily, we haven't as yet been too badly affected by the downpour. Yes, it's not good for the bees, who are totally confined to the hive, but on seeing the occasional blue sky do come out for a quick cleansing flight. Our garden is pretty soggy, and muddy!  Zaf, enjoying the puddles, brings about a kilo of silt into the house each time he is out for a walk! And getting clothes dry is a hopeless task without a tumble drier.

But mostly, having to get up early in the morning when the rain is lashing down from a dark and heavy sky, and it truly should be a 'duvet' day, is really not much fun...

Have a listen to this tune and watch the pitter patter roll down the window pane...