Storm Bert, Part 2... It gets worse!

Our weather has been worse today, with stronger winds and far more rain than we had yesterday. It was a day for not going out and staying in the house. It hasn't been cold - the temperature was about 15c - but the wind and rain have been terrible!

A tree down outside our estate - (photo courtesy of a local resident)

We had a lazy start to the day before doing housework and washing several loads of laundry. The cats didn't stray far and kept coming in, soaked to the skin. I mopped the floor in the conservatory, but little muddy footprints soon appeared again!

We planned to have a later roast chicken lunch today, but still earlier than our normal evening time, which is around 7.30pm. Sophie prepared the vegetables, and there was a veritable feast of them, including Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, swede and parsnip. We popped the chicken in the oven after smothering it with butter and placing a lemon in the cavity. The meal was delicious and Sophie and I drank one of the Rieslings we bought yesterday, which was gorgeous and worth the price tag!

In total, we endured three power cuts today, and our electrics also tripped. After eating, we relaxed and kept up to date with local happenings on Facebook. Local residents were reporting flooding between our village and the road over to Lamport - water was gushing over the road from the fields and it was impassable. The road to Mawsley was also flooded, and by the duck pond in Holcot. We also heard of problems on the A508 towards Market Harborough and on the A14. We had a yellow weather warning today but looking at all the issues I think it should have been an amber warning! There have been serious problems in Wales as well, so Storm Bert has certainly made his presence known!

The rain continued all day and I indulged in two episodes of Michael Palin's Around The World in 80 Days, which was lovely. It was hard to believe it was filmed in 1988. Oh, what a different place the world was then!