Once again coinciding with a drop in outside temperature our boiler ceased functioning yesterday. We have a service booked for Thursday, 19th. and will manage until then.
With no Christmas decorations now wishing to remain undisturbed all round the fireplace and mantelpiece, we decided to light
the open fire in the sitting room.
We therefore drove to Streets in Brockenhurst to purchase coal, logs, firelighters, and two hot water bottles.
After a long spell of overnight rain there is normally a narrow puddle in the gutter outside our front entrance. Today this almost reached the middle of Christchurch Road and a long way down it.
As we watched other vehicles sailing past, and dodged their spray while waiting for a gap for us to enter the road and turn right, little did we know how much further flooding we would encounter.
The rest of the A337 stimulated spray waves at numerous locations.
For the first time in our decade here, the ford at Brockenhust was closed to traffic, the stream presumably being too deep for safety.
The lawn beside Meerut Road had become a reflective lake;
as had Balmer Lawn because its stretch of Highland Water
had burst both banks, its fast-moving currents sending squirming logs on their way until caught by other obstacles.
This evening we dined on barbecue spare ribs with Jackie’s flavoursome savoury rice. I drank more of the Syrah. The others didn’t.
