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Well, we are finally permanently back home now with power restored and things slowly going back to normal. School is not far away so this gives the kids something to look forward to. Friends to check up on and comfort. We have been advised that somewhere in the order of 40% of families at our school have been seriously affected by the flood waters, so there are many many friends who will need some routine and something normal again.

We are doing our bit too. We have found spare uniforms to donate to help those who lost them. The Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre is also taking donations of clothing, linen etc, so we will be taking what we can to them to help others. I think there will be many weeks before things really return to normal, but also for everything to properly sink in. When the volunteers are no longer out, and the army returns to normal duties, then it will hit the hardest in an emotional and mental sense.

Another example of things still not normal is seeing our netball courts. I saw for the first time yesterday that they are being used as a tip for the collected rubbish before being transported to land fill areas and the like. There is so much rubbish down there it is hard to fathom and I am sure this is simply the tip of the ice berg.

Now for some more photos. Another flood waters one, but the rest show how the local area is still affected.

This looks down the street beside the school toward the netball courts (on the left), the row of trees/shrubs sits just above the top courts.

This is the current view down our side street looking toward the grass netball courts. Looking back to normal thanks to some rain to clean the grass. But all is not as it appears...

Once you get past the grass courts you see the second surfaced court is being used for a rubbish collection point before being trucked onto land fill and the like.

You can see by the size of the truck compared with the pile just how much rubbish there is here, and they have been working for days to remove it all.

This looks in the opposite direction from the courts, back to the reserve area. Here there is still stagnant water and mud and areas that just simply look like they are dying. You can even still see the brown in the tops of the trees showing how deep the water was at its worst.

This last one shows how thick the sticky, stinky mud is that is still lying around. This was on the edges of the small bank that goes down to the pedestrian/bike path that winds its way beside the courts and then on to the river. And it is still really slippery too.

Well, that wraps it up for now. I do have some pages that I scrapped before this that I have had a chance to photograph and will upload soon. Then I guess things will start to feel more normal again. I think we all need that, and I am looking forward to sitting at my desk and having some release.

 Til next time, 

Katie