Climate Change

NEWS FROM THE BBC

Hundreds of people living on the east coast of Britain have died in some of the worst storms ever recorded.

Gale force northerly winds lashed the coastline and broke through flood defences from Yorkshire down to Kent throughout the night.

Swelling tides and high winds mixed to form a fatal combination which claimed dozens of lives and flooded thousands of homes on low-lying land all along the east coast.

Many people were forced to spend the night on their rooftops waiting to be rescued by over-stretched emergency services.

'Exceptionally strong winds'

The storm began on the west coast of Ireland yesterday morning, passed over Orkney and then funnelled down the North Sea, driving a deadly mountain of water before it.

The Princess Victoria ferry, travelling from Scotland to Ireland, was forced to abandon ship in the Irish Sea after it was caught in the heavy storms. The death toll reached 130.

Warnings of "rather high tides" issued by the Dutch authorities did not reach Britain and it is known many people in both Holland and Belgium also lost their lives.

The eye of the storm hit eastern Scotland at approximately midday yesterday as Dunstable Met Office warned of "exceptionally strong winds".

The first fatalities on land were reported at approximately 1700 hrs yesterday after 20ft (6m) waves crashed through flood defences in Lincolnshire. More than 40 people are feared drowned.

Throughout the night the high winds travelled down the east coast ripping through sea walls and claiming dozens of lives.

Counties worst affected were Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent.

In Canvey Island, Essex, the entire 13,000-strong population was moved to safety as the bad weather took hold. Essex police said they had recovered 30 bodies during the night.

Eye-witnesses up and down the country said water was gushing through streets and thousands of homes were flooded

This is from the 1st February 1953, over 54 years ago. That is when the earths temperatures were falling. I suppose that TV's didn't have standby in those days though! How about this from August 1952

1952: Flood devastates Devon village

Twelve bodies have been recovered and 24 people are missing feared dead in the flood which has swept through Lynmouth in north Devon.

The normally picturesque holiday village was evacuated early today as troops and council workers were brought in to begin clearing the devastation.

Hundreds of people have been left homeless. There is no water, gas or electricity supply. All the boats in the harbour have been washed out to sea. Four main road bridges have been swept away.

The flood followed yesterday's torrential rain. In the 24 hours before, some nine inches (22.9cm) of rain had fallen on Exmoor, just four miles (6.4km) away.

The water flowed off the moors and into the rivers East and West Lyn which came together as a raging torrent in the steep, narrow valley leading into Lynmouth.

Tom Denham, owner of the Lyndale Hotel, said his cellars had flooded before so he was not too worried at first.

He said: "About half-past nine there was a tremendous roar. The West Lyn had broken its banks and pushed against the side of the hotel, bringing with it thousands of tons of rocks and debris in its course.

"It carried away the chapel opposite and a fruit shop. Three people in the fruit shop were swept against the lounge windows of the hotel. We managed to pull them through in the nick of time.

"I then ordered everyone to go to the second floor, where they huddled in the corridors for safety. In all we had 60 people in the hotel all night."

A fisherman, Ken Oxenholme, said the high street was impassable so he had to run through the woods to reach his wife and child, who were staying in a caravan at the top end of Lynmouth.

He said: "As we watched, we saw a row of cottages near the river, in the flashes of lightning because it was dark by this time, fold up like a pack of cards and swept out with the river with the agonising screams of some of the local inhabitants who I knew very well."

The Queen has sent a message of sympathy, which was read out at a meeting in the town hall this evening. A telegram of sympathy was also received from Queen Mary.

The full extent of the damage is not yet clear. Early estimates say it will cost between £3 and £5m to repair.

The most revealing detail is the level of inflation. One decent house in that area could cost nearly that much these days.

It's still raining

Last summer we were subjected to a hosepipe ban as the climate change activists were blaming the unusually hot and dry weather on man's disastrous behaviour, leaving the way open for Ken Livingstones' London Assembly and the national government to make our life even more miserable with bloody green taxes and that sort of rubbish.

This year we had twice the average rainfall in the winter and, after a brief respite in April, it hasn't stopped raining since. A couple of weeks ago the north got flooded and last Friday was the turn of the south, especially around the River Severn. The reason is that the jet stream. a current of air at 36,000 feet that usually goes across the top of the British Isles in the summer, is just a bit off course this year, allowing the weather systems normally reserved for Iceland and Northern Scandinavia to come over here. It does happen occasionally.

Needless to say, the eco-nazi's are making all sorts of noises blaming this on CO2 emissions as well. If it's too hot it's global warming and if it's too cold and wet it's global warming! Maybe these people will only realize that they are talking nonsense if we have no weather at all - like the moon. If that happened then even I might start worrying.

Doh!

A Giant Homer Simpson has appeared next to the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset. In days gone by people believed that copulating on the penis of the giant would cure infertility. Maybe snacking on Homer's doughnut will cure anorexia?

This publicity stunt by the producers of the new Simpson's film has been criticised by some sections of the pagan community. Maybe they should get a life.

Phoney wisdom of phonetic spelling

Ennywun hurd of tha simpleefyd speling sosiutee? Its an orgunizashun dedeecayted to speling wurds fonetiklee, to mayk lyf eezia for yung peepul lurning to reed and for thoz who hav daily sex. I meen dyslexia. Or dislekseea. Woteva.

Thay lak a littul currij, speling thair oan (own? oown, on?) naym “Simplified Spelling Society”, witch iznt fonetik at orl. Maybee thay wurree peepul myt think them stupid rartha than ded radikul. Ennyway, thair bak in the newz, prosseecuting thair cays. Problum iz, fonetik speling iz hard to standudiz, bekoz pronunseeayshun vaireez akording to reejun and clas. Or clars. So I wud say “owa” for tha wurd “our”, wairaz ova tha payj, Mykul, Minet and espeshallee Symon wud say “aaaaaahhhhhrrrr”.

It mt b bttr to dspnse with vwls almst entrly; as y cn see, its smplr to cmprhnd and nt sbjct to rgnl or dffrng scio-ecnmc fctrs. Bt wd it hlp yng ppl strgglng to rd? Trth b tld, an imbcl is an imberseel, no matter how you bloody well spell the word.

Item by Rod Liddle in todays Sunday Times