WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE....NOR ANY DROP TO DRINK!

Global warming?  More like global flooding!


It felt like Great Britain was drowning under the weight of our precipitation, so sodden was the soil in fields and low-lying towns and villages, that nearly half of England was hampered by flood water for over three months.  Under European Union's directives, our Environment Agency had stopped dredging our rivers for over a decade, to protect wild life habitats.  Many home-owners were at their wit's end and under great stress, as they watched their property destroyed, business at a stand-still or farms inundated and cattle suffering or dying.

Most farms have lost their window for planting this year.

Unable to flow into the sea after each torrential rainfall, the stagnant water posed a real hazard to health and safety, as sewage bubble back up the lavatory and floated in flood water.  Each successive storm played havoc with our coastal region and countryside, wrecking railway lines, losing homes in landslides and business thrown into disarray, with income, profit and livelihood at a standstill, at a time when Britons are facing the worst stringent period since the end of WW2. This freak weather had persisted for too long, with a day or two of sunshine, followed by weeks of non-stop rainfall.

The first day of March showed promise of Spring, so daffodils and pansies made their hesitant appearance.  Even Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights, made a spectacular display in the north of Britain, joined by a swamp of starlings flitting among the lights. Alas! within a week, the weather reverted to heavy rainfall, with strong, gale-force winds buffeting the colourful blooms, and continued the flooding.  We badly need a month of sunny weather to dry out our walls and fields to get us back to normal life again.

Thousands of homes are waiting to be repaired; millions of pounds will be claimed from insurance and local councils; compensation promised by the Prime Minister need speedy delivery to all those who have lost everything.  Still the flood water refused to recede, as the rivers are full to bursting their banks. The Met Office has confirmed this winter had been the wettest since at least 1766, and the fifth warmest year since 1910.


The UK pay huge subsidies into the EU budget each year.  Would the EU now consider paying compensation for so much damage and loss, sustained by farmers and home-owners, as a result of their recommendation?
And should our caring Government now desist in granting planning permission to developers for building more low-cost homes in such flood plains, to avoid causing devastation to future generation?

Back in India, where I was born in Calcutta, the Monsoon season with its heavy downpour, was dreaded every year, but rarely stopped us from venturing out to school, work or business. We might splash out on a taxi or a rickshaw, but were not deterred from our commitments.  In the nine years of attending Loreto Secondary Day School, run by Irish Nuns, I never had a day off due to the weather, but took a day off, if Chinese New Year fell on a school day.

Mother Frances Clare

Mother Raphael & Miss Gomez

I loved school and admired all the teachers and Nuns for their passion to make us all better students.  We had great respect for Mother Frances Clare, an excellent Principal, who made it possible for us girls to have an all-round education, with choices to expand our horizon, knowledge, and experience, which gave us tremendous courage and confidence to deal with all life's challenges.

We were good at sport

Of the seven subjects I passed with credit in the Senior Cambridge Overseas Examination, I liked English Language and English Literature more than the others. We were not offered French in school, but on arriving at Loreto College for the Intermediate, 'A' level equivalent, we were asked to sit in on various lectures, to assess the subjects we would like to read for our B.A. degree.  I fell in love with French when I sat in on Miss Lahiri's French Literature, as she read out, L'isolement, a poem written by Alphonse de Lamartine, and explained why it was written with such passion

Jean Olivia Duru Sati & Gunwanti

and pathos, that I felt I had to learn more.  I pursued French wholeheartedly, with two evening classes a week at the Alliance Francaise du Calcutta, and recited verb conjugation and pronunciation every spare moment.

Sopranos singing Funiculi Funicula...

My hard-work paid off and I was able to go forward with French for my BA degree.  I was reluctant to give up English Literature, so opted for a Degree in English, French and Education.  With Distinction in French, the Alliance Francaise urged me to go further with Post-Graduation in French, which I declined as I felt in 1962, that England and the whole world beckoned, and that I had a lot to do before I could travel.

Jean with baby sister Katy

Whilst growing up in a big family, ensconced in our new, spacious colonial home, we young ones felt pretty smart and learned quickly.  With so much going on in our sauce factory and Mum's arts and craft shop, we learnt to appreciate that time was money. We studied hard and helped in the business when required: bottling, labelling and delivery; and when goods arrived from Hong Kong, helped to unpack thousands of hand-crafted ornaments, artwork and china-ware, some so delicate they were wrapped in tissues with rolls of newspaper and straw, tightly wedged into crates to limit movement and breakages for the long sea voyage to India.

I loved the hustle and bustle, and admired my mum most for her tirelessness, working six days a week, 9 AM till 8 PM and still found time at the weekends to take us to the cinemas, for walks and picnics, lavish mahjong parties at home with lunch and dinner, and even remembered to celebrate our many birthdays.  In the mid 1950s, our house was ideal for hosting the occasional dance parties that went on till mid-night, and I was in my element, learning all the new dances that came our way, especially when our older sisters were courting, and went to many dances held in Calcutta.

Wedding on 7th January 1956

Just after my youngest sister Katy was three years old, our second sister, Yolande, got married to Bob Chiu. We were so excited!  Sister Olive and I were bridesmaids and Katy was flower girl.  We loved our pretty dresses, beautifully made, complemented with corsage and bouquets of flowers that decorated us and everything. In a daze, I remembered Yolande having to walk under our eldest sister, May's pants, who customarily would have married first.

Bob and Yolande

Yolande had to go through many Chinese wedding customs, recommended by numerous Chinese friends, some much older than our parents, one elderly lady even had tiny bound feet. There were lots of people at the reception, as Bob and Yolande had lots of friends and family and the day went really quickly.  This was the first wedding in the family and we all thoroughly enjoyed the occasion, and talked and re-lived the wedding for weeks afterwards.

More of our life in Colonial India in the next episode.  For now in England, we Spring forward an hour at midnight on Saturday, into summer time, which means one hour less sleep, and on Sunday 30th March, we celebrate Mother's Day, at our friends, Cindy and Andy's home.

I wish you all a very Happy Mother's Day and shall be in touch again in a few weeks, probably during the Easter Holidays.