An increasingly valuable voice in these times of weeiiird weather is the Wanstead Weather social account run by long-time weather observer Scott Whitehead. Based on his own personal measurements and collection of data, he tells a worrying tale based clearly in facts.
The much-anticipated rain Wanstead had over the weekend smelt good, he wrote on his Bluesky account, but since less than 0.15mm was measured in the gauge, officially our drought continues.
He gave a useful reminder that this weekend was the fifth anniversary of the flash flooding that hit Wanstead in 2021. (Some amazing pics and video on our story from the day here.)
It’s perhaps a good job that the rain held off. Redbridge seems to have decided not to clear the weeds from the side of Wanstead roads this year, so who knows where the water would have ended up on its circuitous routes to the drains.
You can follow Scott’s account on Bluesky here, and also on this curated group of Wanstead accounts which you can follow with one click.
And still there are people in Wanstead & South Woodford who are contributing to flooding by paving over their front gardens with non-permeable materials and (in contravention of the rules) without including a drain in the driveway. So next time there’s a downpour, all the rain that would have been absorbed by flower beds now runs into the road and overwhelms the drains that weren’t built to cope with all that extra run-off.
Spot on!
Interesting that you showed a picture of weeds along the roads as apparently Redbridge spent more than any other council on toxic weedkiller. We live in a road that is pollinator pathway so clear the weeds ourselves with hoes and spades. What are Redbridge using the weedkiller for one asks, if not to clear the roads?
And still we have those who deny climate change. And people who flout the hosepipe ban.
The plants that grow in the kerbside gutters are a welcome sign that they have not been doused with carcinogenic glyphosate and means the street is a Pollinator Pathway: so important for insects. If you like birds, remember that many feed on insects and that the huge decline in insects is a real and dangerous situation which affects us all. So welcome ‘untidiness’, welcome ‘weeds’!