Road closed

I was out and about today, driving on those roads which were open. A local journey of about seven miles had been extended, by detours and doubling back tactics, to over forty.

I visited a workplace, where the staff present were on duty, in spite of many having had their own homes flooded, endured power cuts and suffered an absence of piped drinking water supplies. Representing a large Social Housing Association, they were, ironically, patiently answering questions, as responsible landlords, from anxious tenants, about the planned repairs to the weather-damaged properties the not-for-profit company manages.

Tewkesbury is, today, still a difficult place to access by road, even though the surrounding flood waters have receded. Now begins the long, messy and expensive business of assessing the damage, verifying the insurance claims, and, slowly, painstakingly, putting things right.