It’s wet in Oxfordshire right now. Really really wet. (North America, I can’t help but envy your polar vortex. I’ve seen so many beautiful snowy/icy photographs on people’s blogs.) Here, there’s flooding. We’re all about the Thames in this bit of the UK, as its early waters wind their way down through Oxfordshire and Berkshire.
On Wednesday morning I had a medical appointment in Oxford, and on the way home, I drove the long-suffering twinnage a twisting route that roughly followed the Thames downstream. The flooding in Oxford itself is bad but I wasn’t anywhere photogenic. A little way downstream I found this:-
And then I hit Wallingford, where people stood on the old bridge and stared at the swelling water:-
It could’ve been worse, though. What they couldn’t see from above was the side of the bridge that showed quite how much worse it was in 1894:-
Much further downstream and into Berkshire is our old house on the bank of the Thames at Pangbourne. I’m still signed up for flood warnings there, and I had a phone call, a text, and an email one night last night week warning me of imminent watery doom. Fortunately the river peaked an inch or so below our old back door. But the village’s flooding was bad enough that I couldn’t get to any decent vantage points to take pictures. The 17th century pub two doors down from our old house has, sadly, been inundated. This was the best I could do, and it doesn’t quite show our old house in the background. Trust me, most of this would not normally be underwater:-
Not quite as pretty as your North American snowy pictures, I admit. As I write, the stoic spouse has just uttered the words “It’s bloody raining again, isn’t it?” so we may be in for more. If I go quiet, please send snorkels.
In knitting news, I’ve succumbed to the temptation of a warm jumper for me – not really what this blog is about. But the pattern is called ‘Thermal’, and in our freezing ancient brewery home, that was enough to tempt me. Photos soon. More relevant to TheTwistedYarn, I’m starting my giant crochet rainbow stained glass window afghan. Here she is so far. The red is much darker and nicer than the yucky pinkish hue this photo suggests:-
One day soon (very soon, knowing my obsessive yarnery), this will be the epicentre of a two-metre diameter beauty. And the wine you can see tastes rather yumptious. And the log fire is lit.
Happy days.
Yikes! Stay safe please 🙂 I’m supposed to be working in Oxfordshire on Tuesday, looks like I may need a canoe to get there!
Yup, time to dust off that canoe! They’re re-opening some of the roads now, which helps. Good luck!
Oh my, that is a lot of water. All we got here in Texas from the polar vortex was unusually cold temps, no snow. I wish we had!
How cold is cold for Texas? I imagine permanent warmth there, but I’m a little ignorant…
We do have winters, but they are generally mild. We have a small amount of snow about once a year, but the temperature usually is in the 50’s or 60’s. The summers. . . Now that’s a different thing! Hot, hot, hot, with temps in the 100’s for weeks on end.
Sounds like my perfect climate! 🙂
That what everyone thinks–until they actually move here!
Ha ha. OK, fair point. Be careful what you wish for and all that.
Warm weather is nice but BLAZING HOT is another thing, especially when you’re on day 43 of consecutive days of temps above 100 deg. It gets very old by the end of August.
I’m sorry to hear about the flooding but I hope the jumper goes well :3
Ahh the joys of living in a cold property I know it well 🙂 still the image of crochet, a log fire and wine warms the heart
Yup, old and pretty = cold to live in, doesn’t it? Ah well, ’tis worth it. 🙂
I think I prefer the polar vortex (which will inevitably end) to the unending rain–although the rain makes for a great landscape!
Yes but snow will always win in the prettyness stakes. Stay warm, if you can.
You could come to Australia for the heat wave. Stay safe and cant wait to see how the afghan goes.
Yikes, it seems that everyone’s weather is horribly extreme at the moment. I hope the heat wave isn’t too gruelling where you are. If only we could all swap weather for a day…
That certainly looks like the way to make the best of the weather! (Only just realised you’re in the UK – most of the knitting blogs I follow are American. How are the yarn shops in Oxford?)
Oxford yarn shops pretty good. There are three. I tend to potter about the little old yarn shops in south Oxfordshire’s towns, though, because that’s much easier with the twinnage in tow. And TBH, I buy most of my yarn online. Are you local?
Not these days – lived there as a student and still get back occasionally. We’re in London now where we have some great (and some not so great) yarn shops but I still buy quite a bit online because for some reason my 3 year old son doesn’t find browsing for just the right colour very exciting…
We’re on the Thames estuary out on the Hoo Peninsula , we expected to see the mashes flooded, as the barrier is in use, but it’s surprisingly clear.
I used to working that area, you have my sympathy.
Good luck with your latest project
Thank you. Glad it’s not too bad where you are. Oxford seems to have been particularly badly affected (again…)
I’ll take the polar vortex over a flooded home any day of the week, but walking across the car park to get into work at -28C isn’t something I want to repeat in a hurry either!
Yikes, -28??!!! Tooooooo cold.