4 am

Saturday morning didn't go quite as planned.

It was the first weekend morning for what seems like an age where we didn't have much we 'had' to do, apart from get to Travis Perkins before midday to order the windows. So we were looking foward to a relaxed morning. The weather had other ideas.

I first woke at 2am and heard the torrential rain. Knowing that our temporary backdoor hasn't got a decent weather seal around the glass I went downstairs to put a few rags inplace to catch the drips. Got back to sleep very quickly.

I woke again at 4am, listened to the sound of the rain for a while, worried a little about the leaky door the finally dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs. Just as well, as it wasn't rain I could hear but the Hillside stream which had paid us a revisit. Thanks to the builders digging up the hill and putting it back they've trashed the work we did in our first winter to stop the Hillside stream. The torrential rain had caused our very own flash flood which was pouring (along with a cargo of loose topsoil from a garden free of vegetation) into the courtyard and garage. So shortly after 4am I was outside in my pyjamas (and a high-vis coat and wellies) ensuring the drains were clear and doing what little I could do to stop the house from flooding.

Thankfully the drains coped and I was able to go back to bed. But our leisurely morning was spent digging an impromptu drainage ditch once it was daylight to limit the water heading toward the house. We did manage to get to Travis Perkins just before they closed at noon, so the windows have been ordered. We even managed to find a few hours to go Christmas shopping, even if I was more than a little fractious due to lack of sleep...

And we've left the topsoil and silt in the courtyard and garage for the builders to clear up on Monday. Hope they don't mind!