A waterlogged Nene Valley

I've just returned from another trip to the Nene Valley Railway near Peterborough - not too far from where I live on the edge of the Wash - and enjoyed a ride on a delightful Swedish railcar. For those train buffs among you, the railcar is a Swedish type Y7 built in 1957. The journey was surprisingly comfortable and the passenger compartment was toasty warm. It was my first time on the railcar, and I loved it. I think I've been pulled by most if not all of their existing stock but today's experience was quite unique.

The railway passes over the river Nene at Wansford and I was shocked at how swollen the river was and along the route from Wansford to Peterborough (Nene Valley) Station, the fields were full of water.

In places, the fields had been transformed into lakes and trees stood in several feet of water. I have travelled this line many times and I've never seen the river as full as it is now or the fields so waterlogged. The media are focused on Somerset at the moment - and understandably as they have suffered the most - but travel around the country and scenes such as these are becoming a familiar sight.

Still the Rain Falls - Mid-Week Update

It is still raining and there is no sign of it letting-up, except for a brief glimpse of the sun now and then. It is raining as I type this. Everything I can use as a container in the garden is now full of rainwater. My water butt is overflowing and as soon as I empty something to water my plants, it fills straight back up again. I'm by no means moaning, but I do find it slightly ironic given the fact that it wasn't so many days ago that we were beginning to panic and worry about water restrictions and a prolonged drought.

I have spent a worrying amount of time following the Levison Enquiry on TV. They have been questioning James and Rupert Murdoch in light of the phone hacking scandal and press ethics. One advantage of being a 'stay at home' dad is that I get to watch things like this. Though to be honest, if I was at work, I would be stealing myself away to watch TV via the Internet. I do find these things fascinating and I am grateful we live in an open society where these things are public. It wasn't so long ago that inquiries such as this would have been conducted behind closed doors.

I have a little job. My mother-in-law is giving me a laptop to repair. It belongs to one of her work colleagues and it sounds as if the keyboard has become damaged as some of the keys have stopped working. I'm pretty confident I'll be able to fix it. I'll remove the keyboard and remove any liquids and give it a thoroughly good clean. I do enjoy things like that, fixing faults and getting things working again. It was pretty much all I did with my little company a few years ago. The problem was two fold - I didn't charge enough and what I did charge, people didn't want to pay. So in the end, it was costing me money so I had to stop doing it. Shame really as I did enjoy working for myself.

My father had his dressings removed from his face and neck on Monday. He also received the 'all clear' meaning they had removed everything they needed to. He has been told to exercise extreme care from now on and told that on no account should he spend any time in direct sunlight. This is a shock. He loves the sun and always has, perhaps a little too much. He spends all of his spare time in his garden and it shows. Nothing will change this, but he must heed advice and cover up. He's had a scare, we all have, and he must follow the advice he has been given.

My wife is at home today. She woke up feeling poorly and I called her boss to let her know this morning. It's quite unusual for my wife to have any time off work. She's normally very healthy, despite suffering with Asthma. Tiredness is perhaps her main problem, which is no wonder given the hours each week she spends on her feet. She seldom ever gets time for lunch or even a coffee break. It's rather odd to have her at home. I am conscious of her being here and I do feel a little as if I'm under her watchful gaze, eager to know what I get up to when she's not about. The truth is, I actually get up to very little. I try to keep to a routine - breakfast, job hunt, lunch etc. I've pretty much kept to this routine punctuated by frequent checks to see how my wife is feeling and whether I can bring her a cup of tea.

I have given some thought as to whether I can sustain both a written and spoken blog. The truth is that I do find the addition of a daily audio journal very difficult to maintain and wonder whether a weekly version would be more appropriate. The main problem is committing to a regular schedule of recording the journal, particularly when I need to take about 10-15 minutes out of each day alone with my recorder. This is frequently easier said than done. A written journal provides the ability to record my thoughts more easily I feel and without the same level of fuss.

I have a joke. I don't take the credit for it as I stumbled across it on Twitter. It goes like this;
'I bought a dog from an Ironmonger the other day. As soon as I got it home, it made a bolt for the door. '

I'll get my coat...

April Showers

My goodness, how quickly the weather can change. It's sod's law that as soon as we have a hosepipe ban, it rains. It had rained pretty much constantly  the last week. We have a drought and reservoirs are less than half-full. Though despite the heavy rain, we are told we need at least three month's continuous rain before reserves can return to anything near normal. So, I continue to catch as much rainwater as I can. My water butt is full and every bucket and vessel large enough is in the garden catching rainfall. I've even applied for a free water saving kit and entered a competition for a free water butt with Anglian Water. They're giving away 5,000 apparently.

I've begun recording an audio blog.  It's something I've wanted to do for some time and I'm hoping it will provide a daily journal of sorts in addition to my written musings.  I had originally planned to use Podbean but discovered after a few postings that there is a monthly usage limit of 100mb, which is frankly useless. So I've decided to use my own site at pcknowledge.co.uk
I've been trying to do something practical with the site as I've done nothing with it for years, despite paying for the ownership and hosting. I'm no expert on websites and I suppose it should be full of stuff computer-related, but to be honest, I could never fully commit myself to keeping it maintained. So I expect it will just be kept as a personal site for now. That is of course unless I get a good offer for it :-)
I will certainly continue to write about my experiences of depression and how it affects me on a daily basis. I already write openly via this blog and will continue to do so, but I wonder if I might dedicate a small section of my site to the subject.

I've lamented previously on the loss of analogue TV across the UK in favor of crisp clean digital. Last week saw London make the switch to digital and the conversion of the Crystal Palace transmitter. This has a level of significance for me as I used to live in South London, under the gaze of the Crystal Palace transmitter, and I recall with fondness the hours spent tuning my TV and the attempts to obtain a good picture. Quite often I would fiddle about until I got a good picture on ITV only to find that the BBC channels were covered in 'snow' or 'ghosting'. Although there are many who question why the switch to digital was made, it is clear the conversion has gone extremely well. The advantages are obvious to anyone who takes an interest in this sort of thing and the increased number of channels provide a level of choice previously impossible under analogue.

The Bahrain Grand Prix has been in the news this last week. There have been calls for the race to be canceled due to criticism of the government and its treatment of protesters and opposition groups. It is clear to me that given the evidence appearing on the Internet, the government are certainly guilty of using extreme measures to control and put down any attempts at protest and this should rightly be condemned. It is also my opinion that the race should be canceled as a sign of our disapproval. Unfortunately though, where there is money to be made, justice and liberty take second place and as our own government have so much invested in this dictatorship, I suspect nothing will be done apart from the odd low-level rebuke.

I am worried about my father. He has recently had several moles removed from his body including his face and is due to have some stitches removed tomorrow. The hospital have been sufficiently concerned to remove anything they consider to be suspect and this has frankly left him resembling the victim of a road accident. I was quite shocked to see the dressings do find myself worrying as to whether this may be the prelude to something more serious. I am more convinced than ever that years spent gardening and working on his allotment in blazing sunshine has been the root cause and that the presence of moles has provided the environment for cancer cells to develop. This is a dreadful lesson and one that isn't sadly learned early enough. It is only when it is too late that the lesson is learned and it serves as a reminder that what we do in our former years can have a significant and sometimes devastating effect later on. I am hopeful that everything has been caught and removed in good time, but I know my father. He will not make a fuss if he feels unwell. He very rarely discusses his health and if there was something more seriously wrong, I fear he wouldn't mention it, not even to my mum. This worries me deeply.

My Son's Away Day

My son is off to London tomorrow. It' his first visit and he's really excited about seeing the sights and a long ride on the train. He'll have a great time. I am though slightly put out that it won't be his parents taking him. I've written about this before, my in-law's generosity. They do the things that my wife and I can't afford to. Of course that's fine and a lot of the places they go to on holiday would never appeal to me at all. But when it
involves my son, I'm just made to feel useless and a bad father. I would love to see my son's face as he stares up at Big Ben or walks across Tower Bridge. I just wish I had the money to spend on a trip to London. But I don't and once again I am indebted to my in-laws for doing the things I should be.

We have had a hosepipe ban imposed on us today. It's not just us, but most of the south-east of the UK as far as Yorkshire. We are now officially in a drought and must begin using water sparingly. If we don't then we are told we will face a crisis resulting in further restrictions and rationing. I'm not actually a hosepipe user. I use a watering can in the garden filled from a water butt that collects rain from the downpipes. It is currently full following the heavy rain yesterday and should last about a week.

Weather Records & Other Stuff

It's certainly turning into a week of note. We have revelations surrounding the donations made to the Conservative Party in return for 'dinner with Cameron'. Fuel tanker drivers are set to strike, possibly over the Easter break. Water levels continue to get lower as much of the UK basks in record breaking temperatures.

In the news, there is speculation that filling stations will run dry and close as there will be nowhere near the number of army tankers needed to maintain a normal service. I my opinion, we are once again reminded of just how reliant we are on this scarce resource and it really is about time a viable alternative was researched and made available. I fear that those living in remote locations, such as myself, will be the most affected as I suspect the emphasis will be on ensuring that larger stations are refuelled. I worry.

Remaining on the subject of fuel, there have been a number of oil thefts in and around Lincolnshire of late. Many homes are not connected to gas or mains drainage due to their rural locations, and are reliant on oil for heating. I know my own parents are and they have a large tank like many others in their garden. I was utterly disgusted to read this morning that over the last weekend, a local school at Holbeach Bank was robbed of their oil supply estimated at 900 litres. Those responsible should simply be removed from society.

I am shocked and dismayed to see that the cost of postage is to increase from April. This will result in a first class stamp costing 60p and a second costing 50p. All this will serve to do is to reduce the number of letters sent and drive more and more to use e-mail instead. I for one will be boycotting the service and I will e-mail or fax instead.

I attended my Tuesday Group this morning as normal. One member of our group informed us they are about to start a teaching course so won't be attending after today. We started with some entertaining word games and discussed various topics including dementia and care for the elderly.

Finally, I am following Amy Jane Smith who runs a blog entitles 'On Performance & Positivity'. Amy is a sufferer of anxiety and depression like myself and writes candidly about how she copes day to day.

Sunny Sunday Roundup

As I write this, the sun is out, the sky is blue and the birds are chirping in the garden. It's a perfect Spring day. We're told this weather is set to continue for some time to come, and there is no significant rain  predicted in both the medium and long range forecasts. Whilst this early Spring may be a good thing for many, the lack of rain in recent months is beginning to have very serious effects for farmers and the production of vegetables. This in turn affects livestock which then pushes up the price of food reaching our supermarkets. Unless we have prolonged heavy rainfall in the next couple of months, this Summer is going to be tough, very tough for many people. There is already talk about water conservation and we could learn an enormous amount from the normal day to day habits of those living in Western Australia for whom drought is a permanent feature of their lives. I for one have begun looking at the water that simply gets thrown away down the drain every day. We waste an enormous amount, most of which can be re-used particularly in the garden.

As if on cue, the good weather always brings out what I perceive to be the worst of society, the idiots and their fast cars, the angry teenagers (and their cars) and the inappropriately dressed - particularly scantly clad teenage girls and grown men in ill fitting shorts and nothing else. In tandem, I also see an increase in mindless littering, the discarded McDonalds containers strewn all over the road, particularly in and around Long Sutton. I witnessed for myself today in Wisbech a passenger tipping their rubbish out onto the road before driving off, in full view of other motorists at a junction. Yes sadly, though the weather is all very nice, I do hate to see this element of our society emerge from their Winter hibernation.

Fuel cost have leapt to an all time high with a litre of petrol locally costing £1.45, a ridiculous amount and a trend that simply cannot be sustained. Unrelated to the cost of fuel, there is impending industrial action taking place by tanker drivers which will affect the supply of fuel to stations around the UK. We read in the news that the army are being trained to deliver fuel in their place in the hope that supplies can be maintained. I think though it is inevitable that some parts of the country will run dry with major queues developing at others.  Any escalation in the Middle East will further increase the price at the pump and restrict supplies with devastating effects for everything we rely and depend on.

Yesterday, many awoke to the news of yet another accident involving a coach. This time it was here in the UK on the M5 motorway and involved a lorry and bus. The accident had occurred in heavy fog when the bus broke down blocking the inside lane. Though details are far from confirmed, we do know that the bus was stationary and was poorly lit, its hazard lights barely visible. One passenger and today the driver of the lorry lost their lives. This is tragic and a needless loss of life. The bus driver has been arrested in suspicion of dangerous driving and it is clear to me that fundamental mistakes were made. My own Passenger Carrying Vehicle training tells me this. Firstly the bus was poorly lit. Though the hazard lights were on, there were no fog lights. Bus lights are notoriously poor, particularly on older vehicles. There was never much importance given to making the vehicle visible though nowadays, there is much greater emphasis by using LED's and lighting strips at varying levels. One thing is for certain, the driver of the lorry would not have seen the bus until it was too late. The other mistake was to leave the passengers seated. As the bus had stopped in the first lane of the motorway, it would not be possible to evacuate the passengers safely to the high verge and away from danger. Instead in this situation, the driver should ensure that all passengers move to the front of the vehicle, the safest place to be in the event of a rear end collision. As far as I know, this was not done and resulted in the death of a passenger. More details will emerge over the coming days, but for me, it is easy to understand how this tragedy occurred. A further tragedy would be to learn nothing from it and apply any lessons learnt to current and future vehicle safety and design.

I was going to finish on the subject of Saturday night telly, but I thought better of it. Some love it and others hate it so at the risk of sparking a debate, I'll leave it there.

Wednesday Round-Up

I've never been a prolific tweeter. I have a Twitter account but I've never really seen the fascination in tweeting my every thought and action. Recently though, I have begun to tweet a lot more. I was never very comfortable with Tweetdeck, a Twitter client for the PC. It was far more chunky than it really needed to be and often overloaded the processor preventing other programs from running. So I set about trying to find a bit of software that did the same thing but at a fraction of the size. Eventually, I found it. It's called Tween and I think it's quite popular in Japan where it was created. Anyway, I've installed it and I'm mighty impressed. It does all I need it to do without placing any strain on my PC. It does remind me somewhat of the old IRC clients of old. It is basic, fast and simple. Perfect.

Really shocking news today regarding a coach crash in Switzerland claiming the lives of 28, 22 of which are children just 11-12 years of age. It is shocking to comprehend the enormous loss of young life and the level of grief and despair amongst the parents and families of all those involved. As a parent, I can only imagine the pain and agony of losing a child and I know it is something I could never recover from. God rest their souls.

In a blow for justice and common sense, I see today that the MOD have again failed to recognise that illnesses in nuclear test veterans are in any way linked to the hideous explosions they were forced to witness in the 1950's. I find it ridiculous that the MOD can absolve themselves of any responsibility for the health of these ex-servicemen and I hope that they continue their fight at the European Courts. They deserve better.

We are told we're running out of water. Of course it's not the first time. I remember water shortages in the 70's and having to get water from a tank at the end of the road. But that was a long time ago and we're being told that unless we get at least a month of constant heavy rain, the situation will become critical. I'm fortunate enough to have a water butt in the garden which collects rain from the roof guttering. In one heavy shower, the butt can fill, and that's an awful lot of water. It really does show how much is wasted and I wish I had another, but they're not cheap. The next couple of months will decide how severe the restrictions will be. I hear that the first large scale desalination plant is coming online to supply parts of London and it does lead me to question why, given the fact we're surrounded by water, this isn't already done by the country's water suppliers...