Thursday 2 August 2012

Hebden Bridge floods and recovery

A quick post..... I’m back in Hebden Bridge, about to set off for London and the Olympic park. I walked into Hebden Bridge this morning and was shocked at the damage that the recent floods had done. So many of the great little independent shops in the town are now closed. Some are hoping to re open soon, others are temporarily relocating thanks to kind offers from other property owners. Some of the photos I took are sad, and some are full of the hope and enthusiasm that helps make this town so special.






This is my favourite......"only in Hebden Bridge "


23 comments:

  1. Hello Janice:
    It is so dreadful to see, as you have done at first hand, the appalling way in which lives have been so very badly affected by the recent floods and so difficult, we should imagine, to remain cheerful in the face of such adversity.

    But, as this post demonstrates, the spirit of hope is very much alive.

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    1. It has been a shock to see it first hand, after hearing about it all when I was in France. The town is an amazing place though, and it clearly will recover. I just hope some significant funding can be found to improve the flood defences.J

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  2. Dear Janice - I would be devastated if my home and belongings were flooded. People seem to be so resilient in coping in such difficult circumstances and this I admire, even to the point of adding some humour to the situation.
    Have a wonderful day in the Olympic Park, I am sure you will tell us in due course what you have seen and done, and I look forward to that.

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    1. We were very lucky in that our house was not affected, but for those that were flooded out twice in 2 weeks it was really devastating. But...phoenix like, the town seems to be dealing with things, and with a remarkable amount of humour and amazing goodwill.J.

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  3. I saw some clips in the BBC website and YouTube of the flooding and it looked awful, Janice. So sad to lose what matters to you and what you have worked for. But as your post shows, Yorkshire people are tough, determined and resilient and have a sense of humour to boot. Hebden Bridge will come through!

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    1. Of that I have no doubt Perpetua. The traders in the town have really got together to help each other. It made me want to spend spend spend.....it doesn't take much ! At least I could argue it was in a good cause. Just off to the olympics now...then back to France next week. J.

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  4. Hi,
    Thank goodness for the spirit shown in times of adversity. Flood damage is dreadful to deal with and the disruption caused to lives and livelihoods traumatic. I hope people are spending in the town where they can.

    Enjoy your visit to the Olympic park. I'm looking forward to reading all about it...
    Gaynorx

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    1. No doubt about it, Hebden Bridge is a special place. There really is an amazing amount of community goodwill here.

      The trip to London for the olympics was amazing....blog bound to follow ! J.

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  5. Dear Janice, what a horrible sight and scenes to come home to. First off, hope all is well at your own house. We have seen through the devastation of flooding. Our house wasn't damaged, but many of our friends' houses were and our business was flooded out. Hebden will rebuild and, believe it or not, it and its people will be stronger. Best wishes and prayers to all.

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    1. Thanks Penny. Our house is fine, but many haven't been so lucky. The town really does seem to be pulling together. J.

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  6. Cleaning up after floods is just horrible. We had bad flooding here in 1999 -- apart from the massive physical damage and loss of life, I vividly remember the filth and the smell after the water had gone. I'm glad there's an "all in it together" mentality -- it's the only way to get through something like this.

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    1. I've heard about the 99 floods....it must have been awful. At least in Hebden Bridge it was only property that was damaged, no lives lost. The town is certainly pulling together though. J.

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  7. I remember flooding in the East of England years ago...the sheer muck and stench of it, let alone the losses.
    I'm glad Hebden Bridge is pulling together to overcome the adversity.
    Nasty shock fr you, though, even if your own house was not damaged.

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    1. It was strange coming back to it, as everyone here was well into the clearing up process. They all were just rolling up sleeves and getting on, as I suppose the shock of it was passed for them.It is a fascinating community though, very strong and very determined.

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  8. How dreadful for everyone, but what an amazing sense of community. So rare these days. Lovely to see people pulling together to get through all this.

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    1. It is an amazing community Ayak, and I suppose it is a rarity these days. J.

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  9. Hi Janice,
    Jude Lancaster lives in Hebden Bridge Old Town and I've been keeping in touch with her over the flodding. Her partners business was affected and they are trying to get back on top of things. Your pictures really do tell the story of a place rolling its sleeves up.

    Youre right about the shoes - only in Hebden Bridge!

    Celia x

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  10. I have seen someone that I thought was Jude in town a few times....now I know it must be her. Next time I'll say hi ! It is a great place to live.... and at the moment, so much of the community does seem to be really working together. J x

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  11. Didn't see this before....we don't get GB news too often. So sorry for the community. But it seems like everyone is out there trying to help each other with some kindness and looks like the community is very enthusiastic and doing its best as it can.
    I can't imagine living threw something like this.

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    1. I suppose by world standards, the flooding of Hebden Bridge, twice in 2 weeks was pretty small scale. No one died, some homes were flooded and many shops on the main street, in the valley bottom were flooded.....twice. The real story though does seem to be the way the community is working together to get the town back to normal.....and it is a lovely little town. J.

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    2. Janice...I googled Hebden Bridge and it is so cute and quaint. What a beautiful town....so pretty. Love all the architecture and history there. Erica xx

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    3. It is an interesting town... certainly steeped in history. Its' recent past has seen it become a place renowned for small independent shops.....no big franchises, or chains here. Hippies arrived back in the 60s, and many are still here( ageing somewhat now !) and it has a large and lively gay and lesbian community. It has a rich artistic and cultural community, as well as some excellent restaurants....all within walking distance of our house.....so a pretty good place to have our English base. It is also only 30 minutes on the train from the centre of Manchester...so big city life is handy too.

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  12. Just keep on. Redemption is inevitably around the corner. It's only the course and path to take that should be taken into consideration and properly handled, with minimizing water damage being top priority, as well as reinforcing it to avoid having the same problems in the future.

    Gail Wallace

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