The north of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland have been suffering the attentions of Storm Desmond, which has dumped a month's worth of rain in a day or so.
Number One Son's University is on the southern fringe of the area that has taken the most damage. The city has escaped serious flooding, unlike some towns and cities further north, but they have lost their electricity.
On Sunday afternoon, the university announced that it was closing early for Christmas, everyone had to go home. Easier said than done! Number One Son relies on the train to bring him home for Christmas, and although they were offering free buses to where the trains were actually running we were doubtful that he would be able to complete his trip before the trains stopped running for the night, given the chaos that seemed to be reigning anywhere north of Liverpool.
I was about to ring my brother and ask if he fancied driving to Lancaster and back over night when a reply appeared on Facebook in reply to a forlorn message that I had posted. I had asked if any of Number One Son's friends had electricity, and I got a sheepish "um, yes" from his best friend up there.
Somehow, in a city that is in total darkness, (according to the news the city and its surroundings have 55,000 houses with no power) one house has power.
Theirs.
So he trotted down and took refuge with them, and is staying there until the trains get running again, hopefully Wednesday or Thursday.
So, what are the odds?
I think it is our own little Christmas Miracle.
7 comments:
.....I hope your son will return home safely soon.
I do believe in luck and miracles too :)
I read about the flooding in Carlisle, looks awful. Your son should be happy that the Christmas hols have been extended courtesy of Desmond. Britain seems to suffer a lot from bad weather stopping the trains, buses, etc and cutting the power.
Ramzu - he is nearly home now, just a few miles away on the train.
Shammickite - Yes, we are busy trying to remain a world power while everything falls apart at home :-(
We can take close-up photos of Pluto, but we still can't control the weather! What hassles. Hopefully he'll soon be home safe and sound. I'm almost surprised the friend admitted to having power - for fear of a bunch of evacuees showing up! Wishing you a break in the action.
Abby - I guess that sort of situation is when you find out who your real friends are! I think he is home now, or at least in town visiting his nan on the way through.
Sounds like he's home safe and sound by now. How lucky that he was able to bunk up with a friend who actually had power. Started your Christmas holiday off right!
I'm reading these backwards, so glad he is home and safe.
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