On Tue, 7 Jan 2014 Bob Hobden wrote:

How are you all doing regarding flooding?
Here we are just a couple of hundred yards from the Thames, luckily on
a raised bit of ground, but I noticed today the river is over it's
banks and lapping against the walls of the Swan pub in The Hythe
opposite Staines. Around Chertsey Bridge this afternoon the roads there
were virtual gridlock (took me over 30 mins instead of 5 to negotiate)
as the B375 on the Middlesex side was flooded for over 200 yards to the
roundabout and drivers were rightly taking their time driving through
it, didn't help that a large caravan was parked at the side of the road
(the driver was having a chat) forcing everyone over to the other,
deeper, side of the road! (and they wonder why they get disliked!)
Thorpe Park lake has risen over it's bank and is now flooding
onto/across the Staines Road A320. Fields are flooded, not just wet, all around.

Sonning Bridge over the Thames near Reading has been closed for a couple
of days and the road from Playhatch to Sonning (B478) is flooded. I got
through ok on Sunday though the water wasn't far off the level of the
road, but now it's impassable. I have to go that way (to Easthampstead
Park Crematorium to play for a funeral) on Thursday and it looks as
though I shall have to go across Reading Bridge. But with flooding here
and there, and consequent traffic chaos, I think I shall allow a couple
of hours where the journey would normally take me half an hour. Road
drains are not taking the water away and so there are many places around
here where the water is across the roads.

Mentioning Playhatch, there is a garden centre there by the roundabout.
On Sunday it was ok, but now the car park is completely flooded so
they've had to close. There is a pub nearby called the Flowing Spring.
Never was a pub so aptly named!

David

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David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK