Until lunchtime, 19 November this year, I was a childminder. I live in Cockermouth, Cumbria, with my husband, a teacher, and four children, aged between two and 12. Then, my business was washed away, along with many of our belongings from the ground floor of our Edwardian terrace house, and we had to leave home.
The little market town of Cockermouth is where the Cocker and Derwent rivers meet. The town's nature is distinctive and the relationships that people have with the predominantly independent shops and business are unusually close. You may not know everyone you pass on the street, but you know someone else who does. There's a supportive community and it's a great place to bring up a family.
Although we experience high rainfall in west Cumbria each autumn, this year the town's flood defences failed dramatically. At its peak, we had over 5ft of water in our house, and elsewhere levels reached 8ft.
The Derwent has flooded in recent years but nothing like this, while the Cocker hasn't flooded since the 1960s. But we had had confidence in the flood defences, and any automated Floodline warnings that we had received in the past had come to nothing.
This time, the unprecedented volume of water and the violence of its force made events unfold very fast.
Once the water began to advance up the street, we moved a few items upstairs. But we had left it late. I delayed partly because I couldn't believe that we would be flooded, partly to avoid alarming the children. Soon water was pouring noisily through the front and back doors.
At about 3pm, a Mountain Rescue volunteer arrived, urging us to get the children out as quickly as possible. The force of water meant we couldn't open the front door, so we talked to him through a window, then passed each of the children through this 3ft by 2ft window to safety.
The three girls were able to understand why this was necessary and co-operate without fuss. My two-year-old son, however, was bewildered to find himself leaving his home through a window and being passed to a stranger.
He was the last to go and I watched his face as he was carried away in the rain without shoes or a coat. I knew we had to concentrate on the children's safety and worry about their feelings later. I also knew they would be taken to safety.
I gathered together some essential items, but couldn't ignore the surrealness of the experience and how business-like we had to remain. Twenty minutes after the children left, the water was up to my waist and a volunteer returned to tell us to leave immediately. Even with help, we struggled to leave by the back door, because of the force of the currents, and walked a long way before getting out of the water.
The children were taken to friends in a nearby village and we were driven to join them later that evening as our own car was stranded. We wanted to go to family near Keswick, but the local routes had become impassable. None of us slept that first night, and the six of us ended up sharing one double bed and one single because we wanted to be close together.
KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
The first week after the flood was spent meeting with insurers and contractors, sorting out remaining belongings, replacing essential lost items and co-ordinating the clean-up of our house, much as you get on with making arrangements after a bereavement. It was a huge job, which left no time for looking after the children. But family and friends, desperate to help, took over much of their daily care.
A web of friendly connections sorted out long-term accommodation for us. Other families were less fortunate. Some from rented accommodation, or without insurance, found themselves homeless and relying on offers of floors and sofas. There were many acts of altruistic kindness by strangers, and a few tales of unscrupulous landlords who saw this as a financial opportunity.
A local hotel and tourist attraction became an emergency shelter and the numbers there gradually reduced as people found alternative accommodation, but three weeks on, some people were still waiting to be housed.
The flood has changed lives dramatically. In addition to ruined homes, people's journeys to school or work are long and difficult because of road and bridge closures. One mother told me that since being rescued, her daughter is refusing to return to Cockermouth and is staying with a relative in a nearby town. Another told me that her child has been sobbing, saying repeatedly that she wants to go home.
My two-year-old is now able to express himself quite clearly and tells most people, with emphatic hand gestures, that his house 'is broken' and 'Bob the Builder' is mending it. He has reacted by behaving in a very restless way. He frequently says that he wants to go home - even, on occasion, in his sleep. His friend, who I minded, is the same.
It's hard to know what my son understands and we don't want to overload him with information. We didn't take the children back to the house for a week because the street looked like a muddy war zone, with dozens of huge contractors' vehicles filling skips. The sight of our ruined belongings in the garden was also upsetting.
The house is now empty and a lot of the mud has been jetted away. Downstairs there's nothing but bare brick so that the drying out can begin. We have taken our son back so that he can see that work is happening 'to make the house better so we can go back'. What is tricky is that no-one knows when that will be.
WAITING TO GO HOME
We believe that we will be able to stay in our new accommodation until then. It's comfortable and near our old house, so the girls can go to school as usual, but it is not our home and settling in is taking a while.
Children's Services contacted me soon after the flood and immediately notified Ofsted that I could no longer do childminding. There is nothing I can do about the loss of income nor can I start childminding again soon, as our temporary home is not suitable for registration and I have lost all my equipment and paperwork. As my son seems so unsettled, I am rethinking my working future, as he clearly needs most of my attention for the time being.
My three daughters have dealt with the changes much better. The younger two were back at primary school on the third working day after the flood and seem mostly to have enjoyed all the excitement.
So far they haven't complained about missing their own things, and it helps that so many other people we know are affected. The children can share their experiences and understand that they were apart of something dramatic and memorable. Whether they will feel so sanguine when the time comes to return home, I don't know.
Accounts from parents affected by the Carlisle flooding in 2005 suggest that many children found it traumatic returning to previously flooded homes and experienced anxiety and nightmares. It's easy to see how upset a child could be when they realise that they are not always safe in their own home and their parents can't always protect them. As a parent, it's a dreadful thing to have to accept, too.
INSPIRING AFTERMATH
Although the flooding was shocking and the wait to return home will be demanding, experiences since that Thursday have been amazing and life-affirming.
The response and the voluntary efforts of local people and groups have been very positive and inspiring. An alliance of local churches, Churches Together in Cockermouth, began almost immediately to operate a flood relief effort from a local church hall. There, volunteers provide home-made food, tea and coffee, and people take refuge to sit, reflect and catch up with neighbours, which keeps our spirits up. Space in the church next door has been given over to agencies such as the Red Cross and Children's Services, offering advice and help.
Like others on our street, we have received many gifts and messages of support from family and friends. Children's Services even called to say that someone in Preston wanted to send toys to get my childminding going again! Such gestures help us cope with the upheaval.
The water inundated some 80 per cent of Cockermouth's shops. Their owners are showing great resilience, relocating to empty properties or to lots in a rapidly fitted out warehouse. We are all adapting and trying to shop locally as much as we can.
I am trying to be philosophical and not look into the future too much. I believe that solutions will evolve and I have come to the conclusion that if you are going to be flooded out of your home, then Cockermouth's probably the best place to be!
