River bed maintenance

There have been the sounds of strimmers in the village for several days as workmen clear the riverbed of summer growth. There is a very good reason for this. If plants and bushes are allowed to grow, the flow of water after violent rains can rip up the vegetation, cause a natural dam downstream which then bursts allowing a huge amount of water to sweep down the valley and destroy all in its path. This happened in 1940 when most of the grand hotels were swept away. Even with the protective canalisation, nowhere in the village is totally safe as even the top of the village is in the flood zone from another river that flows down valley that joins ours. 
Friends who moved six years ago were back on a visit so all those who knew them well were invited to tea and cake this morning.  It was a great spread and an excellent catch up. The couple do not live too far from our old house so we said we would visit again next time we are over.
Today is heritage weekend when public buildings are open and usually free to visit so there was a bell ringing explanation and demonstration in the afternoon. We had thirty plus visitors attend. Each year we seem to get more.