There once was an engine attached to a train, who was afraid of a few drops of rain......

[rich_jacko]

I was going to post something about bloody northerners knowing nothing about proper floods, and about this city being generally rubbish and falling to pieces whenever there's the slightest hint of real weather. But having finally got back to an interweb connection (no power at home) and seen the photos on the News, I'll grudgingly admit that the floods are quite impressive. I suppose.

I had a meeting in London yesterday. There was a small river that I think was meant to be a train track on the way down. We caught the 2pm train back from London. And very nearly spent the night in Derby. Oh, with no hotel rooms left in the city BTW.

There were no trains running north of Derby. Apparently the lines were all flooded.

There were no buses or taxis running north of Derby. Apparently the roads were all blocked or gridlocked.

So R#, J#, J# and I set up camp in a nearby pub for a bit. Then checked again at the station. Nothing running.

We couldn't help but notice there was barely a drizzle and Derby's roads and rail lines were all clear......

So we went back to the pub for another pint. Then checked again at the station. Nothing running.

So we went for food (Mmmm, Nandos......). Then checked again at the station. And eventually found a taxi willing to take us all home.

Once we did that, it was pretty smooth sailing. No blocked roads, no flooding that we could see. No gridlock until after I got out the taxi in Sheffield city centre. Hence my scepticism about this supposedly biblical event that had brought South Yorkshire to a standstill.

Anyway, the traffic being gridlocked for no discernable reason from Brook Hill roundabout up to Hillsborough Corner (where, okay, the weir was a bit high), I eventually got home to a darkened house at about quarter to eleven.

But hey, my flexi credit is now amazing! ;o)

Comments

[keitel.livejournal.com]

Damn, if we'd known you were stuck here we would have come and got you and you could have had a comfortable night chez Jacklin! We're quite safe, a mile uphill from our river Derwent which is also looking uncomfortably full.

Glad you got back okay though!

[rich-jacko.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the (retrospective) offer! It would have been a bit unfair on my three colleagues though - unless you had room to put us all up for the night!