a topsy turvy world

Common sense tells us that water should flow into a drain.   The clue is in the name.  Drain.

For the past week or so, water has been flowing out of this drain, across the road and into the driveway of the house opposite.  Attempts to divert the flow with sandbags have failed and still she bubbles.

Many years ago I studied, amongst other things, hydrology.  Now it may surprise those of a more artistic bent, to learn that hydrology is not a dry subject.  It's not all slide rules and Bernoulli's equation.  There's a lot of pouring over the diaries of 18th Century country parsons, and looking at their rain-fall data.  

18thC country parsons were pretty good at keeping records of the weather.  Some of them, like Parson Woodforde, were also good at keeping extremely detailed accounts of the enormous - and frankly obscene - meals they consumed; eg. a 5-bird roast.  For breakfast.  

From analysing these ancient weather records, hydrologists were able to come up with a way of devising a scale for floods - and their likely consequences.  For example, from 'puddle' (wear wellies) to 'The Big One' (build an Ark).  

The other thing we learnt back then was that it's not a good idea to build houses on flood plains.  This was over 40 years ago.  And it wasn't exactly cutting-edge science back then.  

So if the apocalypse comes and we're reduced to living in culverts, don't choose one near a new housing estate.