Catastrophe!

Yes, and it was taking up so much space, it's good to have it out of the way. It's amazing to see how much water the commercial dehumidifiers are extracting - OH keeps having to empty the bucket the hose goes into! But that's good - it shows that they're doing their job.

I feel very fortunate that we have this spare room upstairs. It may be very crowded, but it's a bit like a small flat and we can cope with 'perching' here for the duration.

Absolutely, Lou. Well, things are moving now...literally! We had a visit from the Loss Adjustor, and Andy came as well. He was an astute but fair man, and we had to answer lots of questions on what had happened and when, and what we'd done to limit the damage. (We got a few brownie points there )

He had Andy's report and photos, and has agreed with all Andy's proposals. So this morning, the removal van will arrive and all the furniture downstairs will go into storage. They'll pack all the crockery etc as well.

We took our pictures off the wall at his suggestion - they might be affected by the damp - so we have them safely upstairs. I discovered that my Kenwood Chef had got wet in the bottom of a cupboard, and isn't working- so that will be replaced. All the sofa loose covers have gone off to be cleaned.

The next thing that will happen is that Andy and team will move in and take up all the carpets and wood floors - I think that's tomorrow. Then we have more fans and dehumidifiers arriving to dry out under the flooring and also we'll be able to see what damage is under the carpet (which Andy suspects).

You are still in good cheer Geranium, but I am feeling depressed now, reading, for instance, about the Kenwood Chef. This means that there must have been water in the cupboards. That is another load of work.

Yes, Sweetpea - we're going to have a talk with a flood defence expert - our neighbour knows him. We'll have to join forces on this one, or anything we or they do independently might backfire on the other property. It may mean re-landscaping the garden/s.

The removal men have gone, and all the furniture with them! They brought a small-ish vehicle and a big one which they parked in a layby about a mile away, then ferried four loads to it - that was very sensible thinking, and was due to the width of the lane.
It's so bleak and bare downstairs now. Awful!

It was two cupboards that got flooded, Cherry - the pantry in the kitchen, and the hall cupboard. My mixer was the only important casualty luckily.

A new challenge for you

We're lucky in having Andy - he certainly gets things going.

Today he's coming to rip up the hall/stair carpet and assess the damage underneath. More noisy machinery, no doubt, as it'll be wet under there. He also wants to take up the kick-boards in the kitchen. Fingers crossed there.

Yes, Lou - we might well see Mark back building another (smaller) wall the house side of the stream to contain it! That expense, of course, will be our responsibilty. We need professional advice first, of course.