All entries for Monday 23 July 2007

Change the National Curriculum – We need weather lessons.

Looking at the number of stranded cars on the roads this weekend, you have to wonder whether people are wearing blinkers that prevent them from looking upwards. Perhaps television sets had a minor failure during the week. Maybe people were so excited by Harry Potter fever, they forgot to check out the weather forecast.

Because some of the complaints after the floods made me think the rain had appeared from nowhere. Did no-one expect roads to get blocked or trains to be cancelled?

Warnings that people should delay travel except where absolutely necessary didn’t seem to be heeded.

Obviously, there was little that could be done in places like Tewkesbury and Upton-upon-Severn. Flooded homes are a consequence of the Anglo-Saxons deciding to live near rivers, often on flood plains.

The most telling photograph was one of a field under several feet of water, next to a sign promising “An Exclusive Development of 2-5 Bedroom Homes”. Anyone thinking about moving to the Thames Gateway would be wise to find an apartment near the top of a block of flats.

As I say, there’s not much that can be done about the towns built close to rivers. The threat of once-in-a-century floods aren’t worth the expense of building permanent defences.

But much like when it snows, hails or gets a bit too hot, Britain goes into meltdown. If millions of people had just stayed at home like they were supposed to, there’d be much less grumbling going on.

Christopher Doidge : 23 Jul 2007 09:00 |  Tags: Flooding Floods Weather |  Comments (4) |  Close comments |  Report a problem