Drought vs flood, you decide

There is a hosepipe ban in southern England at the moment because we are officially having a drought. Hmm, this must be the same drought that delayed me for 2 hours getting home the other night because Richmond Bridge was closed due to flooding. Now unless otherwise specificied, I assume 'flooding' refers to lots of water. Or perhaps it's the same drought that nearly drowned me on the way in this morning and is going to keep my feet and clothes wet for the rest of the day. This must be the only country in the world where we can have floods and droughts at the same time. I suspect the drought alert or whatever they call it will be lifted in a couple of months, just after the quota of sheep washed away and villages flooded is reached.

London is a great place when it rains, it makes the dull, grey, uninpsired architecture look duller, greyer and uninspireder. Because of the amount diesel dumped by lorries, taxis and buses, the tarmac takes on a sheen that's akin to that weird paintjob you find on cars like the TVR. It's like someone has carefully smeared the road with a thin layer of vaseline overnight. Maybe it's a huge team of council workers decked in fluorescent yellow coats earning £40k a year to complete such a job. Manhole covers are another trap. I'm not sure when they were last checked, but most of them are as smooth as the mirror on the Hubble. My particualr favourite though, are all the white lines and road markings, which give you the same feeling as being on a skidpan. I reckon the ratio between black tarmac and white markings must be about 60:40 now. I don't know whether to ride on the road or read it sometimes.