Water, water everywhere...

I guess it was tempting fate. Some time ago I blogged about cycling and stated that it was never raining when I set out on a trip. This is now totally untrue! It seems that everytime I want to get out the bike it is pouring with rain.

The field where we tend to walk Custard, our dog, has become a marsh with water that threatens to come over the top of your boots, and the ditches are almost full to the top, with 4-5 feet of water in them! Custard loves it like this and happily hurls himself into the water and mud before running back to share his wetness with us and show us how great life is.

This morning I cycled to work as usual, with the rain hammering down. Going along the narrow country lanes, water was gushing off the fields and along the lanes, looking for a way out, eventually forming mini waterfalls as it flowed into a small stream or found its way into a lower laying field. At times I wondered if I might have been better off with a canoe!

Of course, being the south east of Britain, there is a strange irony here. Despite the huge rainfall, there is almost certainly going to be a water shortage this summer. None of this water is captured in reservoirs. Nor is it deliberately trapped to allow it to soak into the ground to replenish our depleted underground reserves. Instead, most of it is channelled through ditches, streams and drains straight into the sea. Come August it will be illegal to wash your car or water your garden with a hose pipe!

Doh!