Life on the estate
Thu, 2008-01-24 15:49
#1
Life on the estate
We had a powercut last night so the water pumps and the supply also went off. And some morons left their taps open so when power was restored at 1 AM they have flooded the flats below including my sitting room, dining room and kitchen. The cracks in the pre-fab concrete make the problem particularly nasty!
Had the heartbreaking task of throwing out around 50 waterlogged books this morning. By sheer good fortune, the PS3, PC and TV seem okay but modem and printer ruined. I will be pursuing for costs .. if the council won't pay I will make a claim in court against the tenants responsible but it would probably mean the courts ordering them to pay me £5 a week for a few years but so be it!
Overall, I think I'm taking it quite well. The clean up is almost finished so it's just a case of waiting for the carpets to dry! The way I see it, I got a flat in a block that is scheduled for demolition so that I get a nice new one in a mixed development - so I have to put up with such things for another 18 months. I just need my serenity to last until then!
j
Margharita
Lots of deep breaths, Jude. Will your home insurance cover replacing the printer etc? You should still claim against the council or tenants, though.
Hope you get things sorted. Hold on to that serenity!
poetjude
Yes, the money isn't really the issue... it's the hassle! I have already sought some advice from a solicitor friend and drafted a letter to the council. I hope they will pay up (they will issue £230 redecoration allowance as standard anyway) as the thought of having to claim against a neighbour is not appealing because a. they probably can't afford it and b. they might turn nasty.
I am trying to think of happy things like my forthcoming trip to Ostend and my new boots I got at a bargain price!
jude
tcook
How horrible - floods are vile and smelly. Best of luck - here's hoping the council stump up. Fingers are firmly crossed for you.
jxmartin
Jude,
My sympathies. We were flooded out twice. The last time, it was 15 degrees fahrenheit and we escaped in the bucket of a high lift. We mused that we escaped unharmed and had our health, so all else was secondary.
We too lost many things, but they were just that, "things." They can be replaced. Best of luck in your suit. What is right is right, no worries about neighbor's reactions.
Months from now, you will have a better perspective and make stories about your ordeal.Right now, it just plain hurts. Stiff upper lip and all that.Tomorrow is another day.
Vaya Con Dios,
J.X.M
martin_t
sorry to hear about jude
camilla
How rotten for you, what a pain! I once lived in a flat in Camden that I got because it was in a sin bin and had no central heating etc.Had to wear coat to bed and nose was too cold to sleep.
Missed out on fire and floods though. There was just the odd car set on fire or gangs chasing each other with baseball bats in the car park.
My parents used to lose ceilings often. Once just before a dinner party.Heavy plaster down on top of all the good china and glass,craasssh!
I am trying to find a happy place also from the most frivlous of causes.The online debate strand thing.There is a woman of Muslim fundamentalist views who says "gays shouldn't do it because it is bad for ones health and that FGM is not necessarily un Islamic." I am so glad I am not a diplomat and can mentally rip up a few phone books into tiny pieces.
A happy place.Three schoolgirls in a deli in Kentish Town today. One in a Hijab two not.All three beamish
saying they will still be friends when they are so old they need walking sticks.
A happy place.
ggggareth
Chin up, Jude. You're not alone in these wet times. Though I imagine it's disappointing to find you live in a flat and STILL get flooded!
justyn_thyme
I never had flooding, though I have had a kitchen ceiling fall down because of the guy upstairs pounding on his floor with a sledge hammer.
Keep the faith, jude. Too bad about the books, though. Ouch.
"You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org
tcook
Justyn - how good to hear from you. Is Volume Two of Warsaw Tales coming out? I gave my copy to my niece and her boyfriend who have just moved to Warsaw and they love it.
poetjude
Some bad news recently regarding the redevelopment - it may be delayed...
http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/southlondonpress/southwark/tm_headl...
the council are using government underfunding as an excuse to make budget cuts. In fact, it is the council's chronic waste and inefficiency that is responsible (£5 mill on publicity!).
If the redevelopment is delayed I may not be moved out in 18 months as anticipated. I am considering renting alternative living accomodation nearby or moving back in with P and using my flat as storage/ office. It's a shame because I love the space, layout and proximity to central London. I spoke to my neighbour who has lived on the estate for much longer than me and he says the flooding (twice in the past 14 months) were the only problems he's had in 5 years so maybe it'll be okay now the run of bad luck is over.
Fingers crossed that Harriet Harman and co. (see http://www.harrietharman.org/) win the battle for us residents. I think she will because another delay would be just too much egg on the proverbial face...
jude
"Cacoethes scribendi"
http://www.judesworld.net
justyn_thyme
Tony,
We published Prague Tales last year and are working on Budapest Tales now, as well as a new edition of Warsaw Tales. I'll keep you posted. Prague Tales is mostly available at bookstores in Prague, but it should soon be available in the UK. I'll follow up. As a bunch of amateurs, our problem is distribution.
I'm writing from a hotel in Phnom Penh Cambodia right now. I return to Thailand next week, where I have been living since June of last year.
"You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org
wandelaar
Hope that there's a light on the horizon for you, chin up!
greetings