It has never been heard of before (not in my tenure, anyway) – back home in Dawlish, Devon, the waves are crashing into the sea wall, flying high over the railway line and hitting all our windows, including the upper storeys (our house is on four levels). And the terrace is built into and above a cliff! Thank goodness we have double-glazing nowadays. I wonder how the old sash windows would have fared?

Apparently the section of the sea wall below our house is  being shown constantly on the news at home, and people keep phoning Chris (my husband, in case you are a newcomer to my blog) to find out if our house is still there. The Victorians knew how to build sturdy houses and the terrace is like a huge fortress fending off all that the weather throws at it. Not a drop of water has infiltrated; nevertheless, Chris says it is very exciting, if not frightening.

The same cannot be said for the sea wall, which is down in some places; or the brook and town centre, which is flooded; or some of the other houses in our pretty seaside town. Marine Parade, running parallel to the beach on the other side of the wall and railway line, is being evacuated. The trains have not been running for days and will perhaps be unable to start a service again for another week – the lines are covered in rocks and gravel!

Chris sent me this photograph that he took yesterday, when the waves were much lower. Unfortunately, the giant waves are at their height right now, at night, so no chance of even more impressive photographs. And to think that I’m so far away, on the other side of the world, enjoying the benefits of sunshine and gracious living (which I will tell you about in my next blog).