Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Diary update 9: Tuesday 21 August

Not a lot been happening this last week, though the builders did come to my property Friday afternoon.

Downstairs contents thrown out

We went through the work that they are going to carry out when the house is dry. The house is going to be wonderful when it's finished...I just only wish it would happen sooner!!!

Feeling the stress at the moment quite badly. So much so that all other things in my life are being completely forgotten about.

Nothing is sinking in anymore, all I can think about is the house.

This is not a good state of mind to be in. I wake in the night and start panicking about the house and the work that needs to be done. Along with this my daughter is very restless at night and as we are sharing a bed it means that I am not sleeping well at all.

Have started buying some furniture now, which is nice, and have also replaced some of the children's toys. Still waiting for more money from the insurance company though.

We have another meeting on Tuesday evening, this is with the residents of Cyprus Gardens and Evergreen Walk.

This gives everyone an opportunity to discuss the issues regarding the floods and for the residents to raise any concerns they have. The Flood committee then go away and try and resolve these for us.

Am hoping that this weather will get better this week as I am going to Weymouth with a friend for a few days. I am still signed off work and now won't be going back until the last week of September.

Things WILL get better!!

Diary update 8: Wednesday 15 August

We are all prepared for flooding again, with the bad weather that has happened this week and that which is predicted to happen the brook has already risen and we are fearing the worst...AGAIN!!

Longlevens

The company that was appointed to dry the house came again this morning - the house is no where near dry.

They said that there is no chance that we will be in before Christmas. This is very upsetting news for me, I would have loved to have been home with the children in time for Christmas.

The same company have also called me again this afternoon to say that they are coming back to my property at 5pm to smash the floors up.

Apparently we have a latex coating over the floors which is drastically slowing the drying process and in order to speed this up for us they are going to be 'smashing' this off this evening.Μύ

This means another evening that I wont be able to enjoy an evening meal with my kids as they are likely to be there for sometime this time.

It seems never ending! I can only hope that we do not flood again this week otherwise its going to be Easter before we get home.

Diary update 7: Thursday 09 August

The loss adjusters for my contents have now been out for the second visit. There is another few thousand pounds worth of lost contents!

Leia's back garden (25 June 2007)

Have spoken with the builders today as some house's on my estate are dry and they are having work started next week.

So the drying company have been instructed to come out again on Tuesday of next week to test the floor and walls and if they are dry, work can start as soon as the builders can get there...YYIIPPPEEEE!

I am waiting for the builders office to call me to make an appointment to come out as soon as possible. When they visit again it will be to assess whether there is any further damage to my property following the second flood and also they will be bringing with them the kitchen planner to design the layout of my new kitchen.

They will also be looking at my garden to see if anything needs replacing and if any landscaping needs doing.

The contents insurance company have written off all of my belongings in the gardens due to the dirt and sewage that has been left behind when the water dried up.

All my patio and stones etc in the garden are in a very bad way so these will definitely need to be replaced as I do not want my children playing in a garden that has been covered in sewage.

As I have now received some money from the insurance company I will be purchasing new outdoor toys for my children tomorrow for them to have at my parents house.

It is so frustrating, for them and for me, having this lovely sunshine and the children not having anything to play with outside.

I am also going to start buying new furniture for the house as and when I see things that I like, as I do not want to leave it all until the last minute when my house is ready and have to buy it all in a rush and then possibly end up with things that I don't really want.

Luckily my Nan has space in her house for me to store things so this shouldn't be a problem.

My main priority at the moment is getting the children some new toys, which will make them very happy.

Diary update 6: Monday 06 August

Have been away last week...needed the break. Last weekend my Mum took me and the kids to Brighton for the weekend. Then on Monday, as the weather looked like it was going to be nice, I booked a few days away with the kids camping to Brean.

Longlevens

I always intended to go on holiday last week but due to the problems, and severe lack of finances I did not book anything until the last minute. I am so glad that I did go, it was a fantastic few days for both myself and the kids. The weather was great. The beach was relaxing and it was great to be able to use the hot showers and have running water.

I found it very difficult coming back to Gloucester as I couldn't even go 'home'. I found myself getting very very upset on Friday night.

On the house front everything downstairs has been totally ripped out now, but the drying processes still continues. There is still a lot of damp in my house. It could be another 3 weeks before it is dry.

I have at least received some money from the building insurance company, but not all of it. The loss adjusters for my contents insurance are visiting me again tomorrow to assess the damage from the second flood. I haven't even received any money for the loss of contents from the first flood yet. The process is starting all over again.

I made a claim to the Flood relief fund at the council to which I have also received some money, but only just about half of what I had asked for. At least something is better than nothing.

The week before I went away, I met Princess Anne. She came to our estate to speak with us and witness for herself the damage that has been caused by the floods. She was a lovely lady, and she seemed extremely interested in everything that had been happening.

I still have not had the opportunity to inform my builders of my choices of new kitchen and paint etc yet as I cannot focus and concentrate enough to be able to make a definite decision.

I will have to sit down and think about it this week and email the building company so that they can order the items that they need to start the work as soon as it is ready to work on.

My Team of colleagues from work also delivered a lovely bouquet of flowers to me at my parents house last week. It was great to see them. They are such a lovely lot and I do miss seeing them. When I feel like I have the mental strength to return to work, I will be able to catch up with them all.

We have also had 24 hour policing on the estate up until last week, due to several report of suspicious individuals been seen in Cyprus Gardens. They have now reduced this to a police visit every 2 hours.

On Thursday 26th July, we were in fear that we were to again flood for the 3rd time. Within minutes of us calling our local Councillors, the emergency services were there sand-bagging the brook even higher.

Luckily it did not breach but it was a very scary thing thinking that it could happen for the 3rd time in a month.

Diary update 5: Thursday 26 July

Today saw the builders turn up to rip the walls off. I felt very strange watching them do this. Its no longer my home, just a shell.Μύ

Leia's back garden

Whilst I was there over seeing the building work, I was visited by the Bishop, ITN news and Panorama. Am famous at last!!

Panorama would like to meet me tomorrow morning back at my property when my builders arrive to do some filming of the work being carried out and to interview me for a documentary. I am glad that our story is being kept alive by the media and that people realise what we are going through. I would not wish this upon my worst enemy.

I still have not received the money that I was promised would be received on Monday from my loss adjusters, so it looks like I will not be able to go away next week with my children.

We usually go camping in the summer and even though the weather is not great I would still like to get away for a few days to have a change of scenery.

Unfortunately I lost a few of my camping items plus I have no trainers, wellies or any wet weather shoes anymore and any money that I did have has now been spent on other things that were needed like the hundreds of pounds that I have spent on petrol, and extra food.

Plus I still owe my parents money for the beds that they purchased for me on their credit cards etc. I cant believe that it takes a large company this long to issue payments to people.

I can only be thankful that I am luckier than those who don't have family and friends close by.

These people will be either staying in hotels or privately renting, and I know some people have run out of money, maxed their credit cards and borrowed money to get by whilst they wait for insurance payments. It's just not acceptable.

The water situation is not too bad. I have filled the bath in my house with what was left in my tank so will need to make extra trips to and from my parents house to retrieve that, plus we have plenty of water here too.

So far that does not seem to be causing too many problems other than having to visit friends and family in Stroud to take showers and wash clothing. And of course, without water no ones house can be cleaned by the restoration companies, so many homes on the estate are swamped in sewage and mud.

I still had the driers in my property and with these plugged in this has just caused the sewage to dry out, which is a lot better than a very of my friends on the estate.

I am expecting a call from the Doctor tomorrow. I am no where near ready to go back to work. I am still getting very little sleep at night. I wake frequently, sometimes due to my head not being able to switch off and I literally am thinking of insurance companies and builders.

Other times, when it's raining, it's from sheer fright of being flooded again. I feel very numb to anything else at the moment, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ News 24 has become my favourite TV channel!

To some extent I have become obsessed by the weather and these floods, it is starting to dominate my life.

Until I feel like my house has been properly protected from the floods, and the brook, I am sure I will continue to feel like this and even more so when I move back home.

Diary update 4: Wed 25 July (Leia's home floods again)

Sorry it has been a few days since the last update. Believe it or not, my house flooded again!

The last few days have been a nightmare, I am so stressed out, I can feel the tension all across my neck.

Friday lunch time saw the return of the floods. I alerted Kathy Williams
(Councillor) that the brook was about to breach the banks again, she swifty called the Fire Brigade and other relevant authorities who arrived to help pump the water away from the house...but unfortunately this was in vein.

The sheer force and amount of water was just too much for them to hold back.
Again we watched as our house filled up with water...only it was much worse this time.

The first time we flooded I only suffered a few inches of water, this time well over one foot of water made its way into my house. I lost everything else. I had a few large items, sofa, bookshelves etc in my front room that escaped damage last time, but this time they too are completely ruined.

I now have to make another insurance claim, both for buildings and contents which will now result in paying excess on my claim again (as this is classed as a second claim) - I just can't believe it.

Due to the terrible situation that this country is faced with we are now also without water supply, luckily we did not lose electric supply at my parents house but the power was out in my own property which meant that none of the dryers were working. Could things get any worse!?

As the insurance companies have been inundated this week, trying to get through to them to start the claims again has been a complete nightmare. I have to wait for loss adjusters to come again, I am not allowed to throw any of the ruined furniture away, and as my builders are coming to my house tomorrow to start the work from the first claim this could cause some problems.

Once again, I now have to wait for the house to dry before any work can be done, so when they arrive at 9am tomorrow all they will do is cut all my walls off. I am not looking forward to this, and know it will be very upsetting for me.

Luckily my childminder has power, so she will have the children for me...if she didn't have any then she would'nt have been able to have them.

Its no fun for the kids, today has been hell. There is very little that they can do as there is only limited toys at my parents, can't even take them swimming! It is so difficult for them too, they are bored and fed up, I need desperately to make lots of calls again.

I cant take them anywhere has money has completely dried out and I am still awaiting payment from the insurance company for the first flood. I am too scared to go anywhere incase we get stuck or cut off from the floods and I am constantly getting calls regarding works to the house and need to be close-by incase someone turns up to do something.

In between all of this, I have been trying to help those less fortunate. Offered my services to the Holy Trinity Church in Longlevens. Went door knocking with the local councillor so that we could try to reach those that maybe didn't have electric or those that are unable to get water by themselves.

Doing this is helping with my stress levels..... I feel like I am achieving something.

Today I got on to Parmjit Dhanda's office to see what they are going to do about flood defenses along the brook. I am very scared to allow work to commence on my property when it could flood again and could all be for nothing, especially if I have to face more excess charges on claims. It would appear that it is up to my local council to deal with and arrange, so I left my concerns with Paul James Councillor who will look into and get back to me.

It's looking like it could be next year before I can move home now, but might get a better idea when the builders arrive tomorrow.

Diary update 3: Tuesday 17 July

This morning I have done approximately 10 journeys back and forth from my house to my parents to bring more of mine and the children's things round.

Have also managed to tidy the upstairs of my house a little, as originally all my belongings were thrown upstairs in a hurry.

When the builders come I need to be able to shut all the upstairs doors to prevent the dust and dirt from getting into the bedrooms and bathroom.

Been to have a look at sheds, then took a very good friend of mine, who is also my next door neighbour for lunch. She is very sad at the moment. We are leaning on each other to help us get through this.

The following letter has been passed to the flood committee to share with residents affected by the flooding from HM The Queen -

HM Lord-Lieutenant, Henry Elwes, has received a message from The Queen regarding the recent floods and joins her Majesty in expressing his shock at the devastation caused and hopes that Gloucestershire people will suffer no further loss to homes, farming and family life.

HM The Queen, says:

"I have been shocked by the news and pictures of the devastation caused by the severe flooding across the country. My thoughts are with those who have lost family or friends, whose homes and livelihoods have been damaged, and all those who have been displaced by these events.

"May I also express my admiration for the emergency services, the local authorities and volunteers working tirelessly to help those affected. To everyone concerned with the relief effort I send my heartfelt thanks."

Its great that its been acknowledged but does not really do a lot to help anyone.

Last night, the company contracted to dry my house got in contact with me at 6.50pm.

This was not good timing as I was about to get my daughter ready for bed - something else that has been changed since the floods...my children were used to reasonably early bed times and I am no longer able to get them into bed as early as I like.

Thankfully it's the summer holidays soon and they will be able to adjust a little.

Children will be staying at their Dads house again this evening and I plan on attending to my allotment which is close to my house. This was also flooded and when I last went over it looked as though I had lost nearly all my crops.

I only took this on at the beginning of the year. Myself and my Mum have spent many many hours and a fair few pounds on getting this up together and I fear the worst. This was also something that the children, particularly my daughter was keen on and had planted her own fruit and veg.

Anything that I have lost at the allotment cannot be replaced. It is too late in the season to start some of the crops again, plus there is a financial loss too as plants and animals are not covered by insurance. All that hard work has gone to waste, and I have little time now to put back into it to keep it up together, so this may have to wait until 2008.

Am going to try to visit a friend after, for coffee and a chat about anything other than floods and builders!

Diary update 2: Monday 16 July

Not been too great yesterday or today...things really are starting to get on top of me. I love my parents to bits, but long to be back home in my space with my things living our lives.

After arriving back from Ikea yesterday (we now have beds...yyyiipppeee) I went back home to check on the property and to empty the dryers to find local children climbing in my garden and on my garden wall.

They had been in the garden and taken my childrens footballs. They have also broken all my bushes in the front of the garden and dug up the stones that surround my path and thrown them everywhere.

These same children have also been climbing in the skips and routing through our belongings. Even though this is rubbish, it is still our belongings that we have lost and it is heartbreaking enough already.

I spent yesterday evening on the telephone to the police and have to say the attitude and the complete lack of empathy left much to be desired!

I have since today been to the police station where I am pleased to say that they have been a lot more sympathetic to the situation and have assured me that something will be done in conjunction with a local housing officer.

I did not sleep last night, as on top of this I am now worried about the security of my home. I even went back to the house late last night to check on it. Along with the worries and stress that I already have I definitely do not need this too.

Today I have been looking at kitchens as I need to let the builders know ASAP which kitchen I would like in my house as they need to order it in ready for when the work can commence. The builders will also need to appoint someone to come and discuss with me the layout of the kitchen.

The drying process is also being halted as the main large dryer in my living room does not work. They should be bringing me a replacement today but as I type this it is 5.40pm, and no one has arrived yet.

Upon calling the company they have assured me that someone will be with me by this evening, which you can pretty much guarantee that I will get called to go home and let them in as I sit down to eat a meal with my family.

The dryers have not been working correctly for at least 4 days now which only means the wait to have my house repaired is going to drag on. Not good!

This evening I will be moving more things from my parents house to my nans and then tomorrow I will have to move some more of my things to my parents house.

At the moment my head is buzzing with images of paint charts, kitchens, flooring and work surfaces...believe it or not but trying to decide on how to decorate the whole downstairs of my house in one go is stressful enough in itself...I have trouble deciding the colours for one room at a time usually!

All the residents have now received feedback on the meeting that was held at shire hall on Friday 13 July - and I am pleased to say that it was a fairly positive outcome.

Agreement was reached that a scrutiny of processes will take place leading to a local, independent enquiry; this will ensure that the true reasons for our flood are uncovered. Exact details of this are not yet known, but we will continue to keep the pressure on to ensure that we are not forgotten.

Tomorrow looks like another day of many phone calls. I still have not received any money from the insurance companies.

White goods for my kitchen that should have already been ordered by my insurance company have not yet been ordered.

My parents purchased the beds for me and I am very keen to receive the money for this also as I see no reason why they should be out of pocket too.

I have also been told that I have to price up for a new shed and get a number of quotes for someone to fit it for me too. Another job to add to the list!

On a sad note, my next door neighbour who is also staying with a friend, lost all her marine fish. The tank has simply become too warm due to the dryers, despite being told by the company that it would not effect them - and they have all died.

Not only is this very sad for her and the children, but she cannot claim from the insurance for them. She has now lost 100's of pounds worth of fish and tank. This is another knock on effect of the floods.

Thankfully all my animals are safe and seem fairly happy in their new surroundings, but I have had to fork out on new equipment for them, which is not cheap.

Diary update 1: Tuesday 10 July

This morning the gas man came and disconnected all mine and my neighbours supply (something else to remember to reconnect when I move back home!).

The people who have been appointed to dry the property also arrived. They checked how the drying was going...could be another 4 weeks before any building work can begin.

They also cleaned the outside of my house with jet cleaners, the paths, patios etc to wash away any sewage that may still be lurking about..yuck!

They also make me laugh too, which helps to have the mood lightened.

I have also had a visit from the company appointed by my loss adjusters to carry out the repairs on my home.

A man inspected my property, he was very good and very helpful. Explained to me what needed to be done etc.

It looks like the plaster down stairs is also going to have to be replaced, so it means new walls too.

They can't start work until they have received a certificate from the drying company to say that the house is completely dry!

Once they start it could be 12 weeks or more for the building work to be completed.
AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!

This means its going to be 4/5 months before I can go home...it will nearly be Christmas!

On a positive note though, the work that will be carried out will be great (I hope). I can choose a new kitchen, the colour I want all the walls painted, the flooring, everything downstairs will be fresh and clean and new...looking forward to be home!!!

Thursday, I have a carpet supplier coming to the house to measure for the stairs and landing carpet, yes I know this seems odd as the building work hasn't even started yet, but it's so they can give a quote for the cost to my insurers who will simply issue me with a voucher to spend in a local carpet store to get the carpet of my choice.

The evenings at my parents are mostly being spent trying to organise the mess that is here from me having to dump all my stuff in their garage etc.

My dad and I will be sorting through it this week (spring clean!) and then taking stuff to my nan's house as she has more room for storage.

At the weekend we will be going out to buy 3 new beds for me and the kids to sleep on and reorganising the sleeping arrangements here.

I am currently sleeping on the sofa, due to lack of beds so am very much looking forward to having the comfort of a bed (the insurance company will be reimbursing the cost of the beds).

In between doing all these things am still trying to keep the children's lives running as normal as possible. Things to do:

• Investigate things regarding the floods (as we need to fully establish the cause of the floods to enable us to be insured again etc, and many of us are also going to be looking for compensation)
• Chase people up for money etc from the insurance companies (my mobile phone bill is going to be massive!)
• Get on to the local MP.
• Keep the Longlevens flood committee informed of any info I may have gathered.

I now have grant forms that I need to complete to claim from the council for hardship, as I have lost a weeks wages as my manager has chosen not to pay me for the week had off when it first happened.

I need to try and recoup money anyway I can. I have spent a fortune on petrol as I have been making about 5 trips back and forth to my house each day to either meet relevant authorities/builders etc or collect items that me or the children need that are still at the house.

All of this is taking its toll...I cannot even think about being at work right now!

Luckily the children are going to their dads house for the weekend and I will have the night to my self - a well deserved break!

A friend of mine is getting married so will be going to her party in the evening and letting my hair down for a few hours. And then get ready for the next week ahead and all that it will have to throw at me!!!

About Leia Rosenberg

I'm 28 years old and a single mum of Connor (10) and Millie (4).

I work for C&G in Barnwood as a specialist on the Mortgage Helpline.

I very much enjoy my job and the people I work with. However due to the stress of everything surrounding the floods and the knock on effect it is having on me I am currently signed off work.

This is just one of the many things that the impact of the floods has on peoples lives.

My children are both fantastic. They have been struggling to deal with the situation but they are getting there. I am trying to keep strong for them.

They are very much looking forward to camping trips away throughout the summer (pray for sunshine!) and a trip that we have booked to Disney Land Paris for Bonfire Night.

Lets hope we are back home before then!

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This article is an external contribution and expresses a personal opinion, not the views of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.

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