We are, I suspect, about to face a trying time. Fortunately, even though we are very close to the river Severn, we are away from streams and we haven't actually been flooded, but we are suffering the inconvenience that many in Gloucester are. No Power for most of today, but eventually we did get it back, although at a lower voltage than usual. No water, and so we have to go and collect water from the bowser, and try and get bottled water when we can. We have no telephone or internet, some neighbours also have no TV if they are on cable, luckily we have sky, so when there is power, we are able to watch TV.

Unfortunately we were due to do our big food shop on Saturday, so we are low on food stuffs, and the supermarkets, understandably, are not open except for some basic emergency provisions. I might have to drive across country and find a normal supermarket and do a big shop. Disinfectant and bleach is essential, and there will be none available locally.

But, having seen the pictures on TV, and having seen the awful conditions just a few hundred yards from my house, we know that we are lucky and so are thoughts are with others, we can cope, we are dry and relatively warm,.

Let's just hope that the river spares the substation and 500000 people, including us, don't lose power big time. We are already trying to come to terms with the likelihood of no water for two weeks or more. No electric for a week or so would make life a tad trying.

I am not posting any pictures. I am not going to go out and photograph other peoples misery and misfortune. Sorry. For that you will have to look at BBC World or Sky News. No picture can do justice to how bad it is for some of my poor unlucky neighbours in Gloucester.

Chin up.