Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the days all merged into one long unpleasant memory. The caravan's a greenhouse, the car struggles to to get out of the quagmire which used to be our garden. The flower beds are unworkable and it's even difficult to have a bonfire, but I keep trying. Clothes are caked in wet mud which eventually turns to dry mud. It's still raining. No work being done in house or garden. Trying to plan the garden but have to do it from photos as it is too wet and misty to go out there and pace it out. Lots of early evening glasses of wine. The forecast is for heavy rain, punctuated by light showers. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get through this. Sometimes I feel like I'm in solitary confinement. Now I've started talking to myself to help me through the days, as often the rain is too heavy to be able to hear music or the radio. No electricity in the bedroom, so cold at night. A bit of an ant fest in the kitchen and lounge. This really has been a very difficult time - but little did I know that it was going to get worse.
By Saturday evening the continual heavy downpours had formed a hole in the roof of the house over what was, at some point in its history, the kitchen. The water spread through the house and eventually the electric wires on the floor gave up and the whole system died. It was around 9.30 pm, and very dark.
The garden was churned up by the machinery and, in parts, 20 cm deep in water, the house was taking in water at a rate similar to the Titanic. I lifted the electric cables out of the water, [NB I have since been told that that was a very stupid thing to do as I lifted them by hand and I was standing in a couple of inches of water] checked that they were unlikely to get any wetter, locked the house - God knows why I bothered - grabbed some clean undies, a toothbrush and my laptop and handbag and got in the car, praying that I would be able to get it out of the boggy mess that used to be the garden. With luck and a prayer I got out. I had been faced with a choice, a night in the caravan with no heating, lighting, phone or a night in a chambre d'hote. My first port of call was Judith and Kevin, who offered me a bed for the night and the offer was far too good to turn down. They're not without their own water-related problems. The water table is so high that their gite has water coming through the floor and their ceiling is leaking. A restless night, and not a happy one, but at least I had company and warmth.
Sunday started with the sun shining through the rain, for a while at least. I got up and went straightaway to the house, where things were looking [a little] better. I checked the fuse box but couldn't see anything that might help. After discussion with Judith and Kevin, and a look at their fuse box, I went back and had another try and voila, I managed to get everything working.
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