Flooding in Plymouth but we miss the worst of it

The really pleasant dry weather we enjoyed in September and I think part of October now seems a very distant memory as yet again it is damp and dreary outside. Although there was rain here yesterday evening we escaped relatively unscathed once more because there was quite severe flooding in the south west corner of Devon in particular. The news this morning told us about people having to be rescued from their cars; it seems that the Plymouth / Ivybridge area was taking the brunt of the wet stuff.

Of course it's the poor folk up in Cumbria who have been suffering more than us in the West Country lately. And now I see that the area around Jeddah on Saudi Arabia's west coast is having its worst flooding for years with 100 or more deaths already. Here's the question then: are we and the rest of the World getting more frequent and severe rainfall events? Thanks to the internet and much greater news coverage off the web as well one becomes more aware perhaps of heavier rainfalls. Certainly I keep thinking "it never used to rain like this" but to be honest I don't really know.

A friend nearby is doing the sensible thing this week jetting off to Trinidad for a fortnight - staying with someone she knows I understand. I can well see why anyone with friends or family in warmer sunnier climes will take an opportunity to get away from the perpetual gloom here. The good news from my perspective is that in less than a month we shall have passed the shortest day, always a good psychological moment for me.