VALENTINO

What a day. It started off normally enough - not a hint of what was to come.

Neil had an appointment at the Jobcentre this afternoon so he got the bus there and he decided to walk back home. The weather at the time was fine. A short while after he got back I went upstairs to have a chat with him. We heard thunder and then the sky went black as night and the lightning and rain started - this lasted around half an hour and Neil and me watched from the window. Then it got a bit brighter but the rain got heavier. The rain was the heaviest I had seen in my life.

Then I went back downstairs to find my computer wasn't working and the big TV in the lounge wasn't working. Neil's laptop and TV upstairs were fine. Other electrical items downstairs which weren't switched on at the time were fine. Checked to see if main fuse box had " tripped " - it hadn't. Checked whether other things would work in the same sockets as TV and computer - they did. Phoned my son in law who suggested I replace the fuses in the plugs for computer and TV. I did but they still don't work.

So I have borrowed Neil's laptop to do my blip. Luckily the photos I had taken today were still in my camera and not yet on my computer. Hopefully he won't want his laptop back in a hurry and I can do some comments.

The North East has been devastated by the storm - flooding everywhere, trains, buses and the Metro disrupted, schools and shops flooded and closed, events cancelled etc. It only lasted around an hour but it has caused untold damage and disruption.

So are my computer and TV beyond help?? Can they be repaired? Will I have to claim on my home contents insurance? If anyone has any advice/suggestions it will be gratefully received.