Just to say, spare a thought for folk in our counties that have been flooded out, their belongings ruined or swept away, I have complained of fighting, not with my fellow man, but the elements of late, basic jobs can't be done, rain every day since November,
it does get you down, but I'm lucky on the top of a hill, my sympathy for those poor souls flooded out. Not to boast, but it took me and my late friend "Big" Tom Markham, he was a dead ringer for Richard Griffiths, the late actor, except Tom was powerful, with muscles,
he "playfully" picked me up by the throat, with a bit of "playfull" shaking, just for a laugh! Anyway, we could clear cavities, render and plaster rooms to a metre high all around the house, three coats of plasters in 8 days, we were onto the next house, now it takes 12 to 18 months
for the same tasks. Now I am not super human, as was Tom, methinks the insurance men hold up this upset, the Local Council made payment within 14 days, this was during the floods in 2000, the Millenium, in Whitehaven , Cumbria, obviously things are much better now, like hell Dredging Rivers and Lakes are passe, since privatised. Basic science is beyond Government, rivers, lakes and Docks fill with sediment, if not cleared, rivers expand their banks etc, basic science, and sense, except to Government.Answer, DREDGE THE FRIGGIN' THINGS.

Yeah exactly Hugh, they decided to dredge in somerset after they were flooded, it's ridiculous that they stopped to cut back costs now look.

Exactly Tom. Back in the very hot summer of '76, TV showed us our local reservoir, Ennerdale Lake, reduced to a big pond with puddles,
the silt should then have been removed. Basic science seems to elude folk in power, hills have soil, rain washes it down, it settles in lower levels, it needs removing, that is as basic as it gets, hence rivers losing depth expand in width. Hence a river 30 feet wide and 6 feet deep. ignored will soon become 60 feet wide and 3 feet deep. This logic is beyond then, until a private business is set up that the "FAT CATS" can have a hand in, then voila, it is solved, that the Local and County Councils used to do this, but budgets were cut, is irrelevant. Lets make money for private investors at the cost of the publics homes being ruined! How I hate governments, drunkards financed by the taxpayer to make crazy decisions. I wonder how many films have been lost to these terrible floods?