Floody Hell!

Blighty has been stuck by some pretty heavy rain lately. Places that have seldom been flooded before have received a hammering. I originally come from the East Yorkshire hamlet of Hull and it was hit very hard. My sister Chris sent me this picture of kids kayaking down that road where my first flat was in The Avenues. (I do wonder where the kayaks came from, someone was obviously very prepared!). They say 36,000 people have been affected in Hull alone. That is really serious for one of the most impoverished northern city's to handle.

My folks still live in Hull, and I was very happy and relieved to find out that they had missed out on the nasty stuff. They have a big ol' puddle in the back garden but the house was OK. The neighbours weren't so lucky, but as my Dad said - "What a difference an extra inch can make". I'll let you insert your own crude jokes here ;-)

All was not well down south either. This movie clip shows a hail storm outside our house. In July. What are the chances of that?! I don't expect anyone to think that this is extreme weather. It is just bizarre to see this in London in Summer.

Personally I just think it is one of those things. Climates are funny and they change every now and again. On the other hand the The Rt Rev Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle believes that the floods that have affected large swathes of the country are due to our moral decay and that "We are reaping the consequences of our moral degradation". I would love for him to attend a meeting of the tens of thousands of poor folks who have lost everything in these floods and who couldn't afford insurance and tell them that they were being judged because of their decadence.

I don't want to get petty, but I'm guessing that his Bishops palace hasn't been flooded. I suppose that huge silver cross he is wearing isn't ostentatious (imagine if a rapper was wearing it!) and that crock is really to secure his sheep. If he really worried about his congregation, perhaps he would be better getting his wellington boots on and helping resolve the immediate problems his flock are suffering rather than blaming it on gay people. After all - I can't help noticing that he is wearing a dress?!

Update: This is funny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvdpYgX4f7Q