Flash floods

Phew - that was close. The water came up to the sill on the front door and sort of up the toilet, but we were a lot luckier than the many in our town now spending the night over at the community centre.

I was in at the office party over in Reading oblivious to it all. Poor Skein King was trying to bail the water away and got a call to pick up the kids early from school. It took him two and a half hours to walk to school and back for a normal 10 minute trip. The water was coming down from the hills in torrents and he nearly got swept away on the way over, then couldn't find anywhere safe to get the kids across the roads.

I was giving a colleague a lift back from the party and he knew his house has been flooded, but we couldn't get back as loads of roads closed, gridlock and had to drive through really deep floods with smoke coming out of the engine. Despite the traumatic journey, he was grateful for the lift as none of the trains were running as the water was up to the platforms in the stations.

Eventually got back two hours later and found out my friend's garage had flooded with the water up to her husband's vintage Cobra car's wheels.

Water receding now... BBC camera crews overhead in helicopters... been a weird day.