A Bridge of Troubled Waters

On my vacation back to the UK this week, I arrived on the day of some really bad flooding. (Snow, Terrorism, Flooding - respectively on each my last visits to the UK I am wondering if I should stay in Dubai more)

The following day I was helping a friend rescue her sodden possession's from a ground floor apartment that had received three foot of water over night and mysteriously had all gone the following morning. It had certainly left its mark though and the fridge, bed and sofa had all floated and ended up in different places. The fridge was blocking the kitchen door and had to be "kicked in" to gain access.

It was heart breaking for me to see a good friends worldly belongings become ruined. When she opened up a small jewellery box to see her favourite necklace not there and only half a pint of dirty dank water emptying out, it was really a sorrowful sight.

Still everyone rallied around and have provided her a place to stay while the repairs happen and storage for most of her things. I left feeling a sad but heartened by the community spirit and great circle of friends I have who all pitched in to help.

The following day I spent a glorious afternoon and evening in my old stomping ground of Putney. At night the Putney Bridge over the Thames is really a nice sight and typifies London for me:



It is odd to think that this water looking so serene one night was causing so much destruction such a short time before.