Floods of tears? No - let's just get on with it!!

One of the most moving images of flooded Britain this week was of a couple in their eighties surveying their ruined cottage - once the centre of their world.  As the wife started to take crockery out of a mud-soaked cupboard she was asked what she thought of insurance companies  refusing to cover claimants who try to renew their home policies.

 Looking thoughtful she said: I can see their point. It must be costing them a lot of money to  repair all this damage.  

We witnessed no signs of self-pity , no  'look at us we have worked for this all our lives' - just humble acceptance of the situation.

Believe me, my heart goes out to everyone in Britain who has  suffered from the appalling floods, especially the sick and those with young children.

But I can't help thinking that some people might have come up with a very different cry: Who's going to pay for all this, then? What are we supposed to do now?

Back in the North West, the floods have reached no further than our back garden. We're lucky, I know, but we'd be luckier still if we had half as much courage as that amazing couple. Let's just hope they are getting all the help they need.

Paddle your own canoe - anyone for the Water Olympics?

History often highlights the genius of invention - and this 1950's converted van with 'built-on' canoe wouldn't look out of place on the rain-sodden roads of today. In fact it could well start a new fashion.

Visiting a vintage rally recently reminded me why I love history - and particularly historical fiction. There was an air of  nostalgia amongst the polished, painted and perfected motors of the past that evoked a real sense of  life in post-war Britain.

Have you ever wondered why some people hang on to relics of the past, nurturing them like small children, trying to keep themselves, as well as their possessions, forever young? It's because we don't want to grow old. Twenty-something are now having botox, thirty-year-olds worry about finding a suitable man to father their children, whilst older women are busy telling everyone that 'fifty is the new forty.'

Meanwhile, we all watch as the world changes,  wondering what to expect next.  Floods in summer, sunshine instead of snow, seem to have become the norm.  Maybe we'll all need to build a Noah's ark, or at least have a van-cum-canoe on the drive. But for now we can wallow in the past -  and still look forward to the future.