And then the heavens opened

Bit of a disaster on Thursday.

I was just getting dressed (trousers not yet on) when I heard a great rush of water coming from the general direction of the bathroom.

On checking, enormous quantities of water were pouring in through the ceiling!

I was fairly quick thinking, and turned off all the stopcocks and similar I could think of before alerting la Duchesa.

Then it was a matter of trying to collect the water that was cascading into the bathroom and other places: most notably the bedroom, and in particular the big bed, which ended up flooded and pretty much ruined.

I must praise British Gas, who sent out a plumber within about an hour of my distress call (they must have caught the note of panic in my voice); he quickly sorted out the pipe problem in the roof, but of course the bulk of the damage was done by the water that had already flowed.

Anyway, we've now got a load of dehumidifiers in the house, a new bed on order, and just waiting to get everything dried out and cleaned up.

Another thank you to Legal & General from whom we already have a cheque for the new bed (la D must have been especially convincing on the phone to them).

The worry is that if it had happened when we were both out, the house would have been absolutely ruined.

Still, panic over, and we live to fight another day...