A gambler's take on being (almost) flooded

Took an hour and ten minutes to get home (I can walk it in just over half an hour) and when I saw the size of the river, coupled with the flood warning on the phone (meaning flooding is imminent) and the rain pouring, I just felt there was no way we were going to escape this one.

This was the river level at about 8:



We live up stream about 50 metre's and because the water was beginning to back up, I thought we were history. However the rain stopped and the water levels began to fall. Amazingly this was the same water level today (excuse my Paint editing):



Emotionally, the nearest I can compare last night to was if you had a monster bet on an odds on shot (very common for me) and they've gone 3-0 down (perhaps Swansea tonight!!). You feel sick to the stomach and nothing seems to make it go away. Amazingly, you get through it with the win / unflooded house. But there's no joy, no high fiving, just pure relief.