Sunday
(0)Severe irony has swept the northern parts of Britain over this weekend. Samizdata readers may be interested to know that Britain, the north of it especially, has been afflicted with flooding caused by the old fashioned method: a lot of water dropping out of the sky, all of it trying to use the same rivers.
It has also been extremely windy. It has been fairly breezy down here in London.
The city of Carlisle, the most northerly habitation in England, has been especially hard hit. Last night, the place with without any power, and tonight I heard a TV weather person predicting more rain for the area. There have been casualties, but the deaths so far are in single figures and look like they will stay that way.
[Correction!! Carlisle is NOT the most northern place in England. See comments 3, with a link to a map, and 4. I had at the top right of the Anglo-Scottish border but it is at the bottom left. Apologies.)
Under the circumstances, this report, dated last Friday just as the city was filling up with water, is particularly ironic. It is about Carlisle's efforts to collect money for the Asian Tsunami victims:
THE DEVASTATION wrought by the tsunami disaster was brought close to home this week as one Carlisle woman waits for news of her missing brother, another family recovers from the trauma they suffered, and thousands contribute to fundraising.
Disaster caused by un welcome water was about to be brought a little closer to home even than that.
Musicians and singers Will Harris, James Formby, Martin Lee, Ben Gates and Tony Mason will perform in The Source tomorrow night at 8pm.
I do not think that this event was able to proceed as planned, and if anything similar is rearranged in the near future, I suspect that at least some of the proceeds will be distributed nearer home.
Well if we are going to have charity, this just reminds us where it should begin...
Posted by mike at January 10, 2005 12:19 AM
When do the recriminations against Bush's failure to sign Kyoto begin? Isn't every weather anomaly in Europe due to Bush's intransigence? Isn't this further evidence of global warming. . . arghhh.
Posted by Spear Shaker at January 10, 2005 06:19 AM
The city of Carlisle, the most northerly habitation in EnglandShome mishtake, surely?
Posted by Weasel Bearder at January 10, 2005 08:20 AM
Weasel Bearder
You are of course right. I will correct it. I was confusing it with Berwick.
Thanks.
Posted by Brian Micklethwait at January 10, 2005 09:33 AM
Well lets hope any whingers about a wee bit of weather in the UK get treated with the same sort of disdain given to LA residents who have been whinging about some rain.
BTW just in case that region has had enough a cyclone is brewing off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge at January 10, 2005 01:45 PM
But Bewick-upon-Tweed arguably belongs to Scotland.
It's this sort of border dispute that can lead to war... come to think of it, it did, on and off, for several centuries.
And do you know that Berwick is the only part of the United Kindom currently at war with Russia?
When the Crimean War started, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Berwick-upon-Tweed declared war on Russia. When the war ended, the peace treaty was between Russia and England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Posted by Jim Mangles at January 10, 2005 04:43 PM
