The sun’s shining this morning. Yesterday it rested. And it rained instead. I mean, it didn’t start until about 4 and it was over by 9. And although ‘heavy’ish, it wasn’t like the stuff of Thailand or India. This was ‘heavy’ British rainfall. Nothing to do with Europe as rain has been for last 40 years, this is our fucking rain. Which caused the London borough of Barnet to flood. All of it. And I just don’t get it. Not like we’ve had so much precipitation of late that water levels were perilously high. Not like it was a flash flood kind’a thing (though that’s what they’re calling it). It just rained a bit and everything turned to shit. Or to water, which is actually way more damaging and catastrophic than shit could ever dream of being.

When Mel picked me up from the station, (I may be stupid but I don’t ride my bike in heavy-ish rain), there was too much traffic. Which only happens when the big roads nearby, and in particular Henley’s Corner, have a problem and Waze leads everyone down my side streets. Then we got word from Mel’s aunt that her home was flooding. She lives 300 yards from us. And her road ‘unpassable’ due to water.

But then the worst thing ever. I received a video showing my little tennis club. Which lives in the park, next to the tamest, meekest, lowliest brook in the world. Dogs paddle in this brook. Children go in, much to their parents’ displeasure. There’s normally about 2 feet of water in it. It’s only there to ensure that any tennis ball lofted over the fence will be ruined FOREVER. And on the video was my club. Under water. Next to a raging torrent, which was previously the mild-mannered brook. The water was over a metre higher than it ever is, even during rainfall. And I’m guessing but it didn’t rain 1 metre’s worth last night. If it rained 2 centimetres that’s a lot.

So I’m struggling to work out what happened. I mean, Auntie Gillian can get a new carpet on her insurance (as long as the flood didn’t relate to Covid in any way, obviously; that’s a red line for insurers), but my tennis club??? Which, ironically, is closed this week to resurface the courts.

This has happened before. And it transpired then, as water levels had risen even higher, as you could see by the ‘tide mark’ on the club house, the council, in their infinite wisdom, had ‘diverted’ water from somewhere or other, down our brook, to protect or save somewhere else. They had to build us a new clubhouse and replace the astroturf court which had just ‘buckled’ under the water.

I think I need to speak to the person at Barnet Council who is in charge of the ‘water diversion department’ to find out the criteria for his actions, and what, exactly, he was thinking when he FLOODED MY FUCKING TENNIS CLUB!!!

Happy Soggy Tuesday

A xxxx