There's drenching rain and flooding all over England, but not here at the moment. Though we commonly get different weather in Faversham. You can have thick snow, or heavy rain in Canterbury, and it's all quiet here. The hydrological records show the strip of land here along the north Kent coast (say from Rainham out to Whitstable) is the driest part of the country, though too small to show up in regional maps.

Dave on the allotment said when he was a nipper there was an old boy who had a plot there. Dave said to him it was going to be raining later, and the old boy said "Where did you hear that?" Dave said "On the wireless" and the old boy said "Did they mention Faversham?"

We do get the Creek flooding from time to time on spring tides. It washes over the Town Quay and round the footings of Shepherd Neames' brewery, but people are used to that.

It will be interesting to see whether the Environment Agency eventually decides to upgrade the sea wall hereabouts. The 1953 floods brought the sea in about a mile. The EA said the only reasons to repair, maintain or upgrade the wall would be the railway line (to Whitstable and Thanet) and the electricity pylons which carry the power across the marshes behind Seasalter.