A letter to Janie Hall from her friend Sharon Gates.

February 10th 2020

Here’s a present, Janie, to wish you a happy 48th birthday — it’s a clockwork DVD player. Be electricity independent!! There’s a second one for Emily to take on her travels, she’s off soon, isn’t she? How are you all doing in Reading? How are you coping with the floods? Here in what was so quaintly named the ‘Thames Gateway’ we have some redeveloped areas that are floating islands, able to rise and fall with the waters, but most people are still on ‘dry’ land which as you know is often inundated. I hadn’t paid much attention to it until recently, but think about water supplies and drains – traditional water pipes and sewers do not fit the bill when homes vary in height by up to two metres. The transport systems have to be different, too. There’s a new network of amphibious buses able to travel on land or water, but that’s not too much help when your local bus stop is deeply flooded. The water makes lots of parents afraid, so I think the new law making swimming compulsory for all babies is basically a good idea, although the water is often so dirty that no one in their right mind would want to swim in it. (more…)