August 4 Yorkshire flooding clear-up under way
About a week after college finished I decided to visit Alison in Leeds, I called her up and we made arrangements for me to visit the following weekend. This was to be my first journey north of Peterborough, where my cousins lived and where I was dragged to every other Christmas. So a week later I found myself stepping down from an intercity train nervous but excited. A taxi pulled up outside the train station and wound its window down, I read out Alisons address and the man inside nodded and unlocked the back door. As we made our way through the city I watched the road signs become progressively more ominous, Sheepscar, Mean Wood, The North was all I'd been told it would be. After half an hour and less money than I'd feared we arrived at Alisons house, she met me at the door and introduced me to her family, her mum, dad and younger brother, Rory. I shook hands with her parents and nodded towards the brother. " How d' you find us then Howard ? " Her fathe...