TEASER
As predicted, 2024 has come in like a lion and has not disappointed in delivering breathtaking headlines. There is a plethora to choose from, including Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew, elections and wars. However, this week I have chosen to focus on a headline on a subject that I am an expert in.
Flooding
Many areas in the UK have been flooded. Some areas of Nottinghamshire have been described as experiencing flooding on a Biblical scale. The climate change faithful would have you think that these are unusual events. They are not. Flooding has been a major issue for Europe, including Britain, for many decades. Perhaps I will share some pictures of one of my local ‘Biblical events’ in 2010 on a News Extra this year so you can compare. This is nothing new, despite what legacy media would like to have you think.
As a veteran flood survivor (101 and counting), I am an expert by experience in all things water-related. In the last week, I have been on flood alert four times. Whether we flood or not is immaterialș the sheer anxiety and worry as we watch prepare and wait for the worst is immeasurable. Unless you have experienced a flood, no-one can imagine the effects. As little as three minutes of heavy (monsoon-type) rain can cause devastating damage. Once water is in your property, there is no turning back and there is no quick fix. A myriad of mitigating measures may be offered, such as flood doors, flood barriers, sandbags, non-return valves and even sewer alarms, but treating the symptoms of flooding will never address the cause.
As I watch reports from around the country and hear from families whose homes are flooded, my heart aches for them. But how many of them know what kind of water has flooded their home; who thinks to ask? River water? Seawater? Surface water? Or perhaps worse, sewage? Who owns the water that flooded you? National Highways? The Environment Agency? The water company? Who is accountable? Is a flood an act of God? Who is responsible for the devastation? Who owes you a duty of care in such an emergency? So many questions, but so few answers.
As someone who has spent over a third of their life fighting South West Water and Cornwall Council over flooding, it appears to me that no-one wants to take responsibility, and I am not alone in reaching that conclusion.
What many don’t realise is that most floods that take place on land are also contaminated with raw sewage. Whether it comes from our polluted rivers or direct from our sewers, all flood water is contaminated.
Homes that are flooded by sewage are black-marked by water companies without any disclosure to the homeowner. Has your home been blighted and is it now on the DG5 register? It appears unthinkable that any water company could wield such powers, but they do, and many trying to sell their homes will get a shock, as conveyancing searches reveal their property as unsaleable. Does this happen often? Yes. I am living proof of it. I haven’t fought a water company for over twenty years for nothing.
Properties flooded with sewage often have no access to a working toilet, as the main sewer is busy backing up into your home. No-one appreciates the importance of a toilet until you no longer have one. But where are the water companies and local authority officials? Nowhere, but that’s another story for another week.
After the Flood
As it happens, ITV is screening a new drama this week, aptly entitled After the Flood, which is scheduled to air on 10 January 2024. That is how predictable floods are in the UK. But for many, it is only after the flood that the nightmare begins. Power outages will likely have taken place, disabling vital pumps. Communication channels will be down: emergency services, insurance companies effectively out of reach. At the end of the day, you are on your own.
Initially, the press, royalty and government officials ‘flood’ the area with the sole intention of improving their image, and are sent as a tokenistic gesture for the cameras. They have no interest in supporting flood victims. For the victims who are knee-deep in dirty water and trying to salvage what they can, taking any time out to meet dignitaries or to attend meetings just adds to the pressure. Within a day, the camera leave … and once again you are on your own. There is always something else to fill the headlines.
Cars get flooded first, and those whose homes are flooded have often lost their vehicles too. Does your insurance cover you for a courtesy car, if you can even get hold of one? Let me be clear: floodwater is never clean. You can’t see standing water at night, especially if the power has gone down and there are no lights. If you flood during the day, vehicles will continue to try to drive through the flood water, creating large and frequent bow waves that will flood your home further—thank you to all those drivers who selfishly think of only themselves. In many events, it is up to the local residents and flood wardens to close roads and redirect traffic via a safe route. Tt’s a thankless task, trust me. Life for others doesn’t stop just because of a flood: many just ignore the conditions and walk through floodwater, unaware they are surrounded by sewage and invisible open manholes beneath their feet.
Drying out a flooded home can take up to six months before any restoration work can be carried out. Flood victims can be displaced from their homes for up to two years. If you are insured (which many aren’t), you may be relocated to a hotel or a rented property for the duration; others will rely on family and friends. Obtaining flood insurance for a home situated on a flood plane is nigh impossible. Obtaining a mortgage on a home in known flood area is impossible. Very few will be able to access affordable buildings insurance, so sellers will be restricted to lower cash offers in consequence of the flood risk.
Whenever a major flooding event takes place, the Government is (for England) quick to take advice from the Environment Agency (EA). But did you know that the EA is a rebrand of what many of us may remember as the Rivers Authority? The EA won’t help flood victims: it has no powers and is not responsible for flooding that takes place on land. The EA doesn’t look after humans, just fish.
The water regulator is Ofwat. ‘Ofwat do what’? As a financial regulator, it has no powers of enforcement over water companies. Like all state-appointed regulators, it is full of revolving doors—enabling and protecting those responsible, not the victims.
Many flood victims don’t have flood insurance, those that do have a plethora of different policies that will provide different levels of cover. Insurance companies are eager to grab your premiums, but less keen to pay out. When you lose your home, the last thing you need is a fight with your insurance company; sadly, though, that is the reality for many. A loss adjustor will be appointed: their job is to assess the loss, calculate the cost of restoration and scrutinise your cover. In short, they are appointed to save the insurance company as much money as possible. Let me be clear: they are not there to act in your best interests, please remember that. You have the right to challenge if you don’t believe they are being fair, and I advise you do.
Let me tell you how and why.
Appointing your own loss assessor will ensure that the insurance company loss adjustor is acting in accordance with your policy. How many of us are qualified to understand the ‘small print’, and how many flood victims have the time or ability to interpret it? Most independent loss assessors will collect their fees from your insurance payout. As an example in my own case, my loss was £97,000 even though the insurance company had been trying to get away with a quick repair of approximately £20,000. The final cost to my private loss assessor was £9,000. In my experience, it was worth every penny.
A drying company will be appointed. Expect industrial-size dehumidifiers to be installed in your home. Strangers will arrive to go through your personal belongings and valuables in order to photograph and list them before disposing of them; you don’t get a choice. Others will arrive to assess the drying process before a surveyor gives the green light to start the reconstruction of your home.
When the rebuild is complete, families breathe a sigh of relief and move back into their homes, only to find that they flood again. Until the Government, local authorities and water companies take responsibility for our antiquated infrastructure, flooding will continue to happen; and those victims who have to pay the price will remain trapped in their valueless homes, ignored and invisible, until the next flood.
Psychological and physical effects of flooding
The psychological effects of flooding are immense. No-one sleeps when it is raining. The lives of flood victims are governed by the weather and ruled by its effects on inadequate, overwhelmed and antiquated infrastructure. Flooding has significant long-term impacts on both mental and physical health. Floods are life-changing events, and only those who have experienced flooding will understand the impact. Flooding can challenge the psychosocial resilience of the hardiest of people who are affected. I can certainly testify to that: after fully two decades of fighting floods, my nightmare continues and I am far from alone. Climate change? No, flooding has been occurring in the UK for decades, but no-one cares and no-one learns.
For those needing more information, here are a few handy links that will help (all relevant to England at the very least):
- Flooding (UK Government)
- What to do in a flood (UK Government)
- Sign up for flood alerts
- National Flood Forum
- Consumer Council For Water
Vaccine victims grappling with life-changing injuries from AstraZeneca jab censored while speaking out
Bravo to the wonderful Charlet Crichton, UK CV Family and the Telegraph, who are continuing on their campaign to support those who are suffering life-changing injuries and bereavement from Covid–19 injections. Many who have received the AstraZeneca Covid–19 injection have been censored from telling their stories, banned from telling the truth—including UK Column from YouTube and Vimeo for reporting their injuries accurately. Resorting to secret codes has been their only way for the victims to remain connected with each other.
There is much more to come on this story. We will be catching up with Charlet and UKC V Family in the very near future.
Covid Inquiry update
As the UK Covid–19 Inquiry drags on it appears Baroness Hallett, Chair of the Inquiry, may be creating another headache for our Prime Minister, just before he takes the country to the polls. What has been described as an ‘explosive report’ from the Inquiry is said to be due for publication before summer.
If the evidence given thus far is anything to go by, most of us will by now realise that the Covid Inquiry has been a sham right from the get-go: an opportunity for those running the Covid pantomime to fling insults and blame at each other. It has thus far been a sleaze show full of lies, inaccuracies and excuses; a travesty and insulting to all those who have lost their lives to a lie and to those left behind.
Is it any wonder the public has lost trust in politicians, scientists and doctors? The worst is, once trust is lost, it is very hard to regain, I can imagine that most of us will never trust ‘the system’ ever again, and neither should we.
WHO Pandemic Treaty: Ireland
Many of our regular audience will know of the concerns over the World Health Organisation Pandemic Preparedness Treaty, and the threat to national sovereignty that it entails. In the UK, Members of Parliament have been warning that the treaty could have ‘powers of compulsion’—for lockdowns and more.
In Ireland, however, the story is different. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has affirmed—
[...] Ireland’s commitment to the creation of a WHO Pandemic Treaty. I’m pleased to have secured increased funding in the 2024 Health Budget for Ireland’s assessed contributions to the WHO.
Contributions by the Republic are anticipated to more than double from €1.5 million to €3.7 million from 2024.
What does this mean for Ireland? In simple terms, it means that central and local government in Ireland will have to follow rules and regulations as set by WHO, or else sanctions will be imposed. However, play the game nicely and your supposed representatives and public servants will be rewarded with carrots—to incentivise enforcement of the rules.
James Roguski warns:
The 77th World Health Assembly is scheduled to begin on May 27, 2024.
The deadline for the Working Group for amendments to the International Health Regulations to submit their FINAL PACKAGE of targeted amendments is January 27, 2024.
If the Director-General fails to communicate the text of any proposed amendments to all States Parties before the deadline (27 January 2024), then the World Health Assembly does NOT have any legal right to adopt any amendments at the 77th World Health Assembly in May 2024.
So therefore it is vital to keep up the pressure on our Governments in order to retain our national sovereignty. Time is running out, we have less than 3 weeks to try and stop this tyranny.
For actions you can take in your country, please follow James Roguski on Substack for all the latest news.
United Nations European HQ in Geneva closed
The Palace of Nations is to remain closed until 12 January due to a ‘liquidity’ crisis within the organisation. The reason given would appear to be one of saving money on the running costs. Surging energy prices have apparently strained the UN’s budget. The international body already seems to be experiencing a ‘cash flow’ problem, as countries struggle to pay their contribution payments. Perhaps their budgets have been blown funding wars?
Nannying by the NHS
According to the NHS website, exercise advice is being sought from them every ten seconds. Really? Are we seriously not able to advise ourselves on exercise? Are we being wet nursed by the NHS? it would seem so.
Couch to 5K is a running plan for beginners. It was originally developed by a concerned son who wanted to get his mother off the sofa in order to start running. The plan involves three runs a week. Note for my sons: absolutely NOT. Running is not my thing.
The NHS website states:
Visits to the NHS advice pages about eating a healthy, balanced diet and how to manage your weight also increase in January, almost doubling at the start of the year. The healthy weight page received over 20,000 visits during the first week of January 2023, and the eat well page over 11,000. Other NHS Live Well pages also see an increase of visits at the start of the New Year, including the quit smoking advice page which saw a 230% rise in visits at the start of January 2023 (41,200) when compared with the December weekly average (12,600).
I am shocked, but not surprised, by the number of people running to the NHS for advice. It appears good old-fashioned common sense and logic has vanished for good. The new NHS—Nannying and Hectoring Syndicate—is apparently thriving.
Ghost Patients
Each patient registered nets a British general practice (surgery) an average of £164.64 per annum. Are surgeries taking a leaf out of Nikolai Gogol’s book and claiming payments for patients who don’t exist? I noticed a story in the Guardian which appears to suggest that this is happening around the UK. But how many of these invisible patients are there? According to the Office for National Statistics, it would seem that there are a staggering 5.8 million ghost patients—which means that GP surgeries could be in receipt of over £950 million for people who don’t exist!
NHS England working with HM Prison and Probation Service
A review of health and social care in women’s prisons has just been published. The report summarises the findings and recommendations from the National Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review. The review made8eight recommendations. Now, NHS England’s national health and justice team will lead and oversea a three-year programme of work.
The ambition is to narrow the health inequalities gap between those in the criminal justice system and the rest of the population and to improve their outcomes. Is anyone else wondering how a health service which is already overwhelmed, over budget and severely understaffed, and which clearly cannot care for the population at large, will be able to prioritise women who are incarcerated? Is this just another token gesture of governmental ‘effective altruism’, that in real terms, for the women and pregnant mothers who are incarcerated, means nothing? I fear so. More exercises in lip service.
Teenagers addicted to social media: Millennium Cohort Study
Half of all teenagers feel they are addicted to social media. Ponder the implications. The University of Cambridge is analysing data from the Millennium Cohort Study that was carried out by the University of London Centre for Longitudinal Studies. The study followed the lives of 18,000 babies born in the UK in 2000 and 2001. 48% of those taking part in the survey agreed with the statement, “I think I am addicted to social media”. Girls felt more addicted than boys. Graduate student Georgia Turner, who is analysing the data, said:
It could be, that for some, their relationship with social media is akin to a behavioural addiction.
Keep an eye on this story, as the full results have not yet been published or peer-reviewed.
Electric car sales plummet
A good news story at last. It appears that we at UK Column are not the only ones who are not buying into the electric vehicle agenda. Thanks to Peter, who sent me this story from the Mail. Not only are electric car sales falling, they appear to have gone into reverse, now making up only a quarter of purchases. In 2023, 71,984 vehicles were sold, compared with 88,910 in 2022.
Connected Cars to keep YOU safe
What is a connected car?
Answer: a vehicle that has integrated communication capabilities. The term connectivity, in this case, includes the meaning of ‘advanced services accessible through specialised applications on smartphones’.
Connected cars are intended to transform how we use vehicles in the future. In simple English, this means surveillance, tracking and spying—for your safety, of course. My grandmother always told me to buy things with as little tech on them as possible: the less tech, the less that can go wrong. She was right, more so than ever in the age of ‘connected cars’, which are more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
With fast internet access more widely available, due to technologies and protocols such as 5G, new opportunities are being explored all the time. Connected cars are ‘the way forward’ and are already reshaping the car industry. As the world becomes more connected, new technologies will emerge at pace. You can explore the issue in more depth on the Thales Group website. Not wishing to be followed, tracked or spied upon, I think I will stick to my trusty fourteen-year-old Vauxhall Corsa with its old-fashioned CD player, thank you.
Alcoguard
Sticking with cars, Alcoguard will ‘help drivers make sober decisions’. Clearly, the view is that most of us are not capable of making such decisions. The three biggest challenges for a safer traffic environment are:
- Insufficient safety belt use (I thought we had all got used to that?),
- speeding,
- and drink driving.
Volvo has decided to tackle drink driving as one of its priorities, and will be introducing Alcoguard as an option on some of their newer models.
Iceland
After the volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula erupted just before Christmas, it appears that it’s back to business as normal. However local residents are worried that the Government are putting tourism before safety. Residents evacuated from Grindavík have now been allowed to return, despite new fears of a further eruption. The Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s busiest tourist destinations, has reopened despite more local concerns. It appears likely that another eruption could take place, but at what cost? What is being hidden in plain sight?
And finally
I misplaced my phone for a week, and took advantage of some quiet time with which to do some deep diving down more rabbit holes in search of the truth. It proved very worthwhile, and I and the team will be sharing our findings with you all very soon.
Do you have a plan if the power goes down or a national or global emergency is called? Could you survive if the shops and banks were closed and you had little or no fuel in your car? What if the lights literally do go out? Do you have elderly family or neighbours who will need help and supplies?
As tensions escalate in the Middle East and the global supply chain in the Red Sea is seriously disrupted, we should be prepared to expect to see shortages of food, goods and oil. I keep a close eye on the marine traffic and the current threat levels in order to monitor what is coming into our ports. Clearly, not much.
Until next week.
God bless,
Debi.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12
