It was a strange Christmas this year, and as it turned out, the first in five years when I did not go to work. It wasn't planned that way, but the weather had other ideas.
We knew a storm was brewing several days in advance, but had little idea as to just how bad it would be. I was at work as normal on 23rd December, the eve of the holidays, when the wind started to pick up. It was at that point that I began to grow concerned, and I must admit that I was glad to be leaving before it got dark. That evening after we went to bed, the wind began to howl and prance about the village of Box Hill where I live, which luckily as it turned out given its proximity to the River Mole, is the second highest point in Surrey. I had very little sleep that night and awoke expecting half of our fence to be down. Amazingly it was not.
I got up for work on Christmas Eve then as normal, and immediately switched on BBC Radio Surrey. The news was not good with many roads closed, including the A24 which skirts the bottom of the hill, between the 2 towns of Dorking and Leatherhead. This was not disastrous though, as there are other ways off the Hill. I set out then as normal, but before I got out of the car park, I was stopped by another resident coming the other way who informed me that roads in and out of the village were blocked by fallen trees at both ends. I accordingly went straight home and rang work to inform them that I would be unable to come in.
A bit later on after it became light Coran and I drove through the village to see what the damage had been done. We were stopped about halfway along the road by two men removing a fallen tree. Managing to squeeze past, we proceeded a bit further up the road where we were greeted by a procession of tail lights and two feet of flood water. We immediately turned round and went back the other way! I continued on through the village to the top of the ZigZag where the road becomes National Trust, only to be greeted by a parade of cones blocking the road. I was forced then to return home.
A little later on after listening to BBC Surrey some more, we ventured out some more to find that the fallen trees which had been blocking the ZigZag had now ben cleared. We managed to get to the bottom of the road, and parked in Mickleham near Rykas Café, which we were surprised to find was also under several feet of flood water. Worst of all though was the Burford Bridge Hotel which was completely flooded, with water halfway up the door. Several fire engines were in evidence with fire fighters helping marooned staff and their guests into boats. I have never seen anything like this in my life, but worse was to come.
When the announcement was made late on Christmas Eve that the Mole was on a severe flood warning we began to get really concerned. Not for our safety, for we are too high up here to get flooded here, but for the safety of others, with as it turned out, good reason. The previous day we had managed to drive through Mickleham to the junction with the A24, where we scrambled across the road to the bridge at Norbury Park - the water at that point was beyond the height of the footbridge and flooding across the road. I knew then from this that on Christmas Day worse was to come, as indeed it was, with half of nearby Leatherhead town centre under water, and many homes and businesses evacuated.
All is well though that ends well, for on Christmas Day the Fire Service came and pumped the water out, restoring access for villagers enabling them to get off the Hill. Sadly it was too late for me to return to work until Boxing Day, and I lost a considerable amount of money, but as I said to Coran, at least we had electricity, Internet and each other. There were many who did not.
Everything is back to normal then now, as we await the next lashing. Hopefully this time it will be confined to other parts of the country.
And so a New Year tomorrow will dawn. 2013 has not been a bad one all told. We said goodbye to several influential world leaders in the form of Margaret Thatcher and of course Nelson Mandella, and welcomed several more to the fray in countries far removed. There has of course been much unrest - in Africa and the Middle East mainly, in particular Syria with the use of chemical weapons, and of course Egypt. Closer to home we saw the murder of Lee Rigby, the solider stationed at Woolwich Barracks. This was the one event that I shall remember from this year, plus of course Andy Murray winning Wimbledon. It is good to remember both the good and the bad - or as I prefer to say, the light and dark, knowing that the dark ultimately serves the light. It is hard sometimes to see this when in the midst of all of this angst, but it is true as we shall no doubt see in time.
On a personal note I started the year off with a new job which has of course not been without its challenges. I had hoped to start 2014 with another job still, but this has proved not to be for reasons
best known to those who would have been my new employers. They never did give me a satisfactory explanation, and almost one month after writing to them asking for one, I am no closer to a resolution. Many changes are afoot at work which will hopefully improve the way in which I work, so for the moment at least, I shall sit these out and see what happens.
My twin passions of reading and travel were both indulged with a passion during 2013 - in the case of books to the tune of 90 titles - a record for me. I also enjoyed several holidays, some for a few nights, others for much longer, including two trips to Lundy and a visit to Iceland in October to see the Northern Lights and experience the lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower.
Perhaps though my greatest joy has been the reconciliation with my sister. It remains early days, but I am hopeful that our relationship has turned the corner, and we have finally, with the aid of her wonderful social worker and Doctor, found some common ground.
Coran as always has remained my constant companion and support through all the trials and adversity, holding both my hand and my spirit with her love and gentleness, which she exudes in such copious amounts. I am grateful for every single day that I wake up by her side, despite the challenges of our relationship, which have also been many, and look forward to many more by her side. 2014 can now only get better.
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