A Different World

As forecast, the weather this morning was in total contrast to yesterday. Gone was the inch and a half of rain we had and in its place were blue skies and sun. I cannot remember such a dramatic difference in leas than 24 hours.

The river that was a raging torrent was flowing full but gently to the sea. The farmer who was rescuing cattle trapped by the floods yesterday had time today to help out erecting the marquee for the duck race, which is held in our neighbour's garden tomorrow. Fortunately, the land on which our houses are built is almost pure sand, meaning it drains quickly after a flood and things are fine for the duck race.

Even managed to get the grass cut at the church this morning, hopefully for the last time this year. It got the place tidied up for a funeral at lunchtime, which was attended by a large number of villagers.

On returning home, I was struck by how the riverbank had been changed by the spate. The gentle slope of the beach on the far side of the river was now an almost straight edge where thousands of tons of sand and gravel had been washes away by the force of the river. It can be seen easier in LARGE. The power of water never ceases to amaze me and the way it can change the course of a river in a few hours!

Going to be a busy day tomorrow getting the BBQs fired up, games organised, burgers and clams cooked, ducks raced and fished from the river, more burgers cooked and sold before marquee is dismantled and neighbours garden restored to the way it was. Might even find time for a blip!