Suggest moveable barricade to be wheeled into place when req. extra line of defence within hedging perimeter (spiked poles, tripwires, traps etc) to be erected at short notice in emergency.Ībove creates obvious vulnerability at entry/exit point. Last point most vital: ditch must be wide enough to prevent vehicles approaching, & hedging must be dense enough to prevent penetration.2 inner row, fruit-bearing (sloe, rosehip, hazel, raspberry, blackberry, etc)īenefits: wind-shelter for crops within site, visual barrier, physical obstruction. outer row, thorned (blackthorn, hawthorn etc) Enlarge these to create realistically defendable space.1 Use spoil to create raised bank behind. Notes for discussion points to be raised at next house-meeting, re: early preparation measures needing to be actioned asap: endnote iĮxisting drainage ditches already form natural boundary. When he came back into the house she was standing in the lounge, holding up one end of the rotten sofa, waiting for him to take the other end. He went out to the car to get some tools and some gloves.
She took a picture down from the wall, wiped the glass clear to look at it, and threw it out on the front lawn. He watched her rubbing at the wall, and looking at the muck which came away on her fingers. He wondered if she realised how much the children associated her going away with what had happened. He wondered if it was the going away she felt bad about, or just the timing of it. He didn’t know what she wanted from him now, from any of them. He still didn’t know why she’d come back. The plaster would have to be knocked off the walls, the wiring redone. The carpets and the floorboards would have to come out. Everything was completely and totally ruined. She didn’t seem to know what she was talking about. ‘It’ll be okay though, won’t it? We can get this all cleaned up. Below it, they were blurred and streaked with mud. Above it, the wallpaper’s stripes looked almost fresh. Somewhere around the top of her head, a thick black smear marked where the water had risen to.
Her hand went up to her face, to cover the smell. He came down the stairs just as she stepped into the hallway. She thought she knew what it had been like, but really she didn’t. ‘Is it okay? Is it clear? Should I come in?’ He opened the window, and she looked up, sharply. She was stepping from foot to foot, her hands clasped together. He walked through to the front bedroom and looked down at her. It was spotted with mould and curled almost in half. It showed the three of them eating their dinner, him and the girl and the boy. She’d painted it a few days before the storms had come. He looked at one of the girl’s paintings, tacked to the wall. He remembered the last time he’d been here, holed up with the children, waiting for the boats to come, trying to make a game of it. It felt strange to be looking out on solid ground.
It was weeks since the waters had finally receded. The other gardens were piled high with rotten carpets and sofas and beds. He stood at the window of the children’s bedroom, at the back. He went upstairs, keeping close to the wall as they’d been warned to, and into the bathroom and each of the bedrooms in turn. So he turned away from the door and walked through the hall into the kitchen, the playroom, the lounge. But she wouldn’t come in until he’d looked. The building had been checked and secured. ‘There’s nothing in there, is there? What if something’s got in?’ She peered in from the front path, her arms folded, saying she didn’t even think she wanted to come in. He stood in the hallway and felt the carpet sinking wetly beneath his boots.