I know I am a little late with this post but life is more that a little hectic at the moment. After our freaky Blizzard the other night I was tempted to look back at photos of this time last year and discovered that we were digging ourselves out of masses of snow and people were shouting from the rooftops about how we were on the verge of dropping into a new Ice age.
This year its the rain that is causing many families untold misery and in many cases the heartbreak of loosing not only your home but your livelihood as well. The poor people in the Somerset levels live in some of the most resilient rural communities in the country and the community spirit that is present in most of the villages and towns will be in evidence.
If only the media would look hard enough. They would find that communities like our own come together when the going gets tough and individuals and organisations will be trying to help those in most need and sharing what they can.
According to many news organisations these communities have been carrying on as best they can with very little help from local councils and organisations which I find very hard to believe. The scale of the clean up operation is mind boggling and more importantly the planning will have to be robust enough to stand up to the obvious scrutiny of the critics that will undoubtedly heap on the shoulders of these individuals.
Disasters happen and if we think we can control every eventuality then we are deluded. Nature will always find ways to challenge us and we need to remember that when we start looking for someone to blame. I don’t know enough about Dredging or what has caused this other that that the weather has been dreadful and we have seen storms almost on a biblical scale.
It does however seem a little strange to me that Central Government and Ministers only sat up and took notice once the problem came up in the Thames Valley. The speed at which the great and the good of Westminster bought a pair of hunters and a waterproof Jacket (Obviously on expenses) and leave Westminster in search of a deep puddle to stand in and be interviewed was unbelievable.
If I thought that the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition could actually make a difference I would applaud them whole heartedly, however the cynical person that I am I think it is more to do with electioneering, all in the cause of getting the electorate to believe that they will sort it all out in a jiffy no matter what the cost.
Now I know we have little chance other than localised flooding here in Saddleworth but the prospect of loosing everything, being dropped on by Broadcast Journalists stood in puddles in front of cameras and Politicians doing the same would be enough to drive me over the edge. Couple that with the Insurance industries past performance on paying out to these people I hope that the rest of the year will be a little kinder to these unfortunate individuals.
I hope I am wrong, I hope the Politicians make a difference. I hope that the insurance companies pay out and make it easier for these affected areas to recover as quickly as possible. Then I will hold my hand up and say I was wrong.
We should judge these organisations on the speed and effectiveness of the cleanup operation and on the changes they make to the infrastructure to make it harder for this to happen in the future and that would be a great start.
So by this years standards next February we should be in the middle of a drought and a host of balmy sunny days to laze around in, that’s if the global warming phenomenon I was promised years ago comes to fruition. So all that leaves me to say is that I had better get my factor 50 sunblock bought, its better to be prepared than be sorry I didn’t bother.
John D Eccles 