Tag: flood

Christmas Day in pics

On Christmas Day we had spectacular weather after weeks of cloud and rain and misery. Granted, it was about 7 degrees, but the sun was shining and the wind had stopped and I grabbed my camera and headed out to take some pics. Town was deserted. 

Fortunately the current crop of floods are abating somewhat. On Saturday I had gone walkies and took a look at the water levels around us and things were not looking too good. This is the Severn looking towards the Mythe water works. 

(1500 x 435)

The pano above was taken on Saturday and is looking towards Bredon Hill across the waters from the Avon/Severn confluence.  Fortunately that water is subsiding and hopefully will remain low. As an aside, just think how fertile that soil must be.  Back in Town I headed towards the Abbey because it is always spectacular. Alas, the floods have cut off parts in that area too.  The area where the small white building is is the cricket pitch and the only game that can be there now is water polo. Howzat?

A few steps away is the parking lot for the Abbey and you can get some wonderful shots of it from this area.

The Abbey was unaffected by the 2007 floods, but you can bet that in its almost 900 years of existence it has seen a lot of water surrounding it.  There is a really huge tree in it’s grounds too that is a definite favourite of mine.  It must be really old and who knows how much it has seen. 

I went into the Abbey and had a quick walk around. The Christmas service was starting at 10.30 till 12.00 but I had a full bladder and no reading glasses so did not stay for it. But while I was there the choir was singing and the organ was making sweet thunderous music. Light was streaming into the east facing windows and it was very special. The pews were filling quite quickly too and on my way back home I saw lots of people heading towards it to attend the service.

Behind the High Altar was a nativity scene and the light was shining on it and it was very apt for a Christmas Day. Unfortunately I cropped the image badly and could not replicate the shot from other positions. 

Leaving the warmth and solidity of that ancient church I headed along the Mill Avon towards town. The deep shadows and bright patches made photography difficult, but there was a peaceful air about this part of the river.

The old mill and Victoria Gardens were under water once again, and the boats moored alongside were riding at pavement level. One boat caught my eye, the name board proclaiming it to be “Thunderchild” and immediately I thought about Jeff Waynes War of the World’s

“Thunderchild”

The Invaders must have seen them
As across the coast they filed
Standing firm between them
There lay Thunder Child.

I would have that piece of music going around inside my head for the rest of the day. In one of the alleys I came across this magnificent gate and that really wrapped up my photography for the day and I turned my bows towards home.

Break had a nice display of vintage toys and I paused for a pic…  Children are really the ones who enjoy the season the most, but alas Christmas has lost the magic and has become a commercialised monstrosity. 

Apart from food Christmas was done and dusted for another year. You can bet that Boxing day will be in its last throes and they will be putting out the Valentines Days goodies, although in South Africa it is more about “Back to School” instead,  and we all know how kids enjoy that too… NOT!

DRW © 2019-2020. Created 26/12/2019.  
Thunder Child lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Songwriters: Jeff Wayne / Gary Osbourne.
Updated: 15/02/2020 — 08:57

Still flooding

Yes, it is true, we are still awash with water from the Severn and Avon. Last Sunday morning the water in the field outside had dropped considerably but started to rise by the time I got back from the Remembrance Day Service. Rain did not help the situation at all and when I left home on Friday morning Northway Lane was flooded. I cycle in the direction of the first image to access the cycle path. 

Northway Lane

The water was as deep as the crank of my bicycle and that was on the pavement!  By the time I left for home the level had dropped slightly, but that was not saying much. The images in this post are all taken on Saturday 16 November and are a good indicator of the state of affairs where I live. 

The cycle path is surrounded by water and at some points it is flowing an inch from the tar and I have not seen the water so high since i moved here in 2015. I go over the green bridge every day and it was from here that Miss Emily and I played Poohsticks .

Theoretically this is the Carrant Brook, although it is now more like the Carrant River. 

I went into town this morning but travelled past Bredon Garage to see what the water levels were. The image below shows the water level during the 2007 floods, and this morning it is lapping at the door of the building. 

The road is also flooded, but I was able to ride on the pavement to avoid most of the water. Unfortunately this road is in an appalling condition and riding a bike here can be very uncomfortable because of the potholes, manholes and other hazards just waiting for you to hit them with your front wheel.

The major source of all this water is the Avon and Severn Rivers. 

Avon River:  Current River Level:  4.469m, rising.  Current level recorded at 11:00am, Saturday 16th November GMT. Change from previous measurement: 0.003m  (recorded at 10:00am, Saturday 16th November GMT at Tewkesbury Upper Pond)

Things look equally bad for the Severn:  Current River Level:  4.392m, rising Above normal for this location. Current level recorded at 12:00pm, Saturday 16th November GMT Change from previous measurement: 0.006m (recorded at 11:00am, Saturday 16th November GMT Mythe Bridge)

Severn River, Tewkesbury Ham, Mythe Water Works (1500×448)

Realistically all this water will eventually head downstream and probably exit at the Severn Estuary; but who knows how long that could take.  I can just look out of my window and hope that things don’t get worse.  There was however one good thing about all this water; I got to take the Pretoria Castle out for a sail.

The water where i was standing was at mid calf height and the piece of string is just in case she gets blown away or decides to sink. 

On Sunday morning I went up to Aldi and took the following pics

Unfortunately it started to rain late on Sunday afternoon, although the level of the Avon appears to dropping.

Current River Level:  4.333m, falling, Above normal for this location, Current level recorded at 5:00am, Monday 18th November GMT, Change from previous measurement: -0.004m  (recorded at 4:30am, Monday 18th November GMT)

And that was the flood report. We return you to our regular broadcast. 

DRW © 2019. Created 16/11/2019. River level data from https://riverlevels.uk/

Updated: 04/12/2019 — 20:20

What a day!

Yesterday was just one of those days that leave you wishing that you could roll over and go back to sleep.

When I got back from South Africa I discovered that Tewkesbury was in the midst of one of its usual floods. After all It is one of things that the town is famous for.

Yesterday morning I awoke to find that the taps were dry as somewhere underneath all that water a water pipe had burst and Severn Trent were hot on the heels of the leak. There was a mass outbreak of panic buying of bottled water by residents which was ironic because we were suffering from a lack of water while surrounded by water. And just when I thought I had seen it all I spotted a camel walking down High Street. 

I do not know whether he was delivering water or was the solution to our lack of water in the pipes. I will say one thing about Severn Trent though, they notify customers and when things look to be prolonged they provide bottled water. In South Africa the problem would first be denied, then admitted, then investigated slowly and repaired at leisure. No emergency water would be provided and there would be no credits passed on monthly bills. Oh, and camels would not be walking in the streets either. 

The flood situation is a different story. I had a quick look at the river levels while I was in town and this is what I saw: (Images taken with my cellphone and weather was overcast).

Standing on the King John Bridge looking towards Healings Mill and the Avon Locks.

The Severn and The Ham, with Healings Mill on the left of the image

The water from upstream of the Severn was expected to arrive today and over the weekend which could raise the level of the Severn even more, but hopefully the water already in the town would have receded since then so that it will not reach disaster proportions. Our tap water is back though so a nice cuppa tea will do wonders for me, If anything else happens that makes me go “huh?” I will let you know.

Incidentally, we had another flood scare earlier in June, and this one is on a much larger scale although nowhere near the 2007 floods. 

DRW © 2019. Created 01/11/2019

Updated: 04/12/2019 — 20:21
DR Walker © 2014 -2020. Images are copyright to DR Walker unless otherwise stated. Frontier Theme