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Karen Russell MAAT 07872 333945
www.organisemybooks.co.uk
Karen Russell is licensed and regulated
by AAT under licence number 10426473.
Accounting Services
for small businesses
• Book keeping
• VAT Returns
• Sole trader and Partnership
Accounts and Income Tax
Returns
• Limited Company Accounts
• Xero Training
• Small business set up and
The
systems
Shatterwell
advice
Times
Karen Russell MAAT 07872 333945
www.organisemybooks.co.uk
The Great FloodKaren Russell is licensed and regulated
by AAT under licence number 10426473.
Shatterwell House is now 200 years old.
In that time there is no record of it having
flooded. Until December 2008 when it nearly
did.
It had been a very wet autumn and on 15 December
2008 there was a cloud burst up the
road by the race course. Torrential rain came
down the road into North Street. The river
Cale rapidly rose and started to flood the
bottom of our garden. Soon this continued
to rise rapidly and half the garden was under
water. It must have risen 3 metres. Our large
pond disappeared under water. The balustrade
by the river was hidden. The weir which
normally has a drop of over 2M disappeared
under the horizontal flood. Water was backing
up from the North Street bridge. Because
the drains from the road back into the river
were blocked by leaves instead of draining
into the river 2 houses the other side of the
road became flooded.
We stood and looked. The water was lapping
at the low wall at the edge of our patio by
the back door. If it had gone any higher the
conservatory and kitchen would have flooded
and this could have spread into the main
house. But we were lucky: it slowly started
to subside. Gradually we were able to see
the damage that had been caused. We had
a wooden lean-to by the stone shed next to
the river. We used this to keep logs. But it
had disappeared with all the logs. We had a
small dingy which was kept on the pond (officially
used for removing excess weed – but
usually capsized instead!). It was tethered
to a tree by the pond but that too had gone.
Otherwise amazingly there was no great
loss. Most of the plants that had been
submerged, like the camellias, survived.
Fortunately, the house was safe.
Because of this we are designated a “flood
risk area” with inevitable increase in house
insurance – if you are lucky enough to be
able to get it.
As a result of climate change, it is very likely
that we may see worse flooding over the
coming years.
Drs Richard Gribble
and Garth Robertson