Flooding in Oxford
Waking up this morning to the dulcet tones of Labour’s Colin Cook on Radio 4 was surreal; I was dismayed to hear him tell the world that far from the worst being past us, in fact the water had surged overnight and Osney Island, bits of the Botley Road and parts of the Abingdon Road area are once again under water.
I’d urge loyal readers to consider donating to the Red Cross appeal to help people affected by the floods in the UK. Though flooding hits everyone, people at the bottom of the income scale will be hardest hit. In particular, they are less likely to have household insurance cover and less likely to have the money to replace damaged goods than those who are better off. Flooding in the UK may not have the impact of that in, say, India, in terms of loss of life, but it’s still hugely distressing.
How much of the money wasted on that futile war in Iraq could have been spent on flood control and prevention?