18.52: My favourite tweet of the crisis (and I am using that term in the loosest possible sense) so far is this beauty from Thames Valley Police.
Chief Constable Sara Thornton and officers working hard with military to help communities affected by flooding #flood pic.twitter.com/bnzCAAo0Qo
— TVP Oxford (@TVP_Oxford) February 12, 2014
Who in the Thames Valley Police PR department thought this was an opportune moment for a photo op? And are they looking at an Ordnance Survey map? Do they even still make them?! The Thames Valley Police offices look like an extraordinarily gloomy place, where the blinds are rolled down entirely even though there is clearly daylight outside. But perhaps that makes it easier for them to all lean in and squint at the OS map, rather than, say, using their iPhones.
18.46: If continued speculation that we are witnessing the end of days is getting you down, you might want to look away now.
Virgin Trains have released an extraordinarily defeatist tweet. The use of the word ‘abandon’ evokes images of Dante’s Inferno. Does Richard Branson know something we don’t?
NEW: ALL CUSTOMERS TO ABANDON TRAVEL #UKSTORM
— Virgin Trains (@VirginTrains) February 12, 2014
15.15: Here are a selection of Oxford-based tweets that I have found by scouring the internet because no one is using my hashtag yet. Yet.
Flood warning for our house. Feeling mildly less scared than last time, given the closest we came to flooding was Hannah leaving a tap on.
— Tom Rutland (@tomrutland) February 8, 2014
As Tories ridiculously accuse Labour of ‘dividing the nation’ over their floods reaction, let’s remember their response to the London Riots.
— Jane Cahill (@JanaCahill) February 12, 2014
just a thought but would the floods have attracted as much coverage if it had hit somewhere other than Home Counties? pic.twitter.com/D38CrlPAag
— Tom Beardsworth (@TBeardsworth) February 10, 2014
If you’d like a more diverse range of tweets and tweeters, the start using the hashtag #CherwellMiserableFeb
15.01: According to the ever reliable 106 Jack FM, Eric Pickles was in Oxford yesterday, inspecting the flood water. Feel free to insert a cheap gag about water level rises here.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles is meeting residents in flood hit #Oxford pic.twitter.com/pMjBd7Ewjy
— JACK fm Oxfordshire (@106jackfm) February 11, 2014
We interviewed Pickles last term and he went down like a pork pie in a synagogue.
14.25: Talking of Instagram, here’s a photo I took the other day of the botanical gardens. Ansel Adams eat your heart out.
14.23: In case you’ve forgotten the recent history of our community, Oxford was ‘rocked’ by a ‘Great Storm’ last term. The reason for the inverted commas is because the ‘Great Storm’ turned out to be little more than hot air. My hot air, mainly.
But with the Isis at bursting point, morale at rock bottom, and Instagram in a frenzy of photos of Christ Church meadows, #cherwellmiserablefeb has all the makings of a storm for all seasons.
13.58: People at Catz, Hilda’s and Anne’s can rejoice at the sight of devastation to Christ Church and Magdalen. That’ll teach people to attend attractive colleges.
Some great pictures of the Oxford flooding from the air, look at Magdalen and ChCh Meadows http://t.co/qR0pwECd2u pic.twitter.com/X5jHLSzGc5
— AnnaBroadley (@annabroadley) February 12, 2014
13.43: Before we get things going, please send us lots of tweets to @Cherwell_Online or use the hashtag #cherwellmiserablefeb and we’ll publish your thoughts here. Prizes for the best pictures and/or most provocative opinions.
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‘I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.’
So said Louisa May Alcott hundreds of years ago. Really feels like an asshole thing to say right now.
