No man is an island...

...but parts of Sheffield were this week! To understand what happened, you need to go back 10 days to Thursday 14th and Friday 15th June June. Steady rain overnight raised water levels and by morning there were areas of localised flooding. I was on my way back from the other side of the Pennines, and the journey that normally takes around an hour and a half took over four hours, of which the last 90 minutes were spent trying to find a route from the M1 to home. The obvious route - via Chapeltown - looked OK, and there were cars coming in the opposite direction, which seemed like a good sign. But when I reached the dip in the road, I too had to turn back and retrace the route I had just travelled. Ecclesfield proved equally impassible, so eventually, I pulled over and plotted out a route that I knew would keep me on hillsides.

Now fast forward to the afternoon of Monday 25th June. We'd had warnings of severe weather from the Met Office, so the persistent, torrential rain was hardly unexpected. It was a little crazy at work. Despite being close to the top of a hill, we have an intermittent spring in the cellar library which produced around two inches of water. Meanwhile, the builders were halfway through re-roofing, and the beautiful new roof had neither ridge tiles nor flashing, so water was pouring through into the upper rooms and down the chimney breasts. Genesis 7 was working in reverse - the waters below the firmament were rising up, and the waters above the firmament were pouring down, and the firmament between was shrinking rapidly. Then the lights went out... but it was only a brief power cut, not the end of Creation as we know it.

Being so far up the hill, we didn't realise till quite late that the city was coming to a standstill. By evening, Sheffield's seven hills had become seven islands as the five rivers, already swollen from the previous rain, all burst their banks. The sudden rise in water levels was catastrophic, and low-lying parts of the city were under five to eight feet of water. The one student who hadn't managed to get away, and one of the tutors, had to resign themselves to staying with staff members, and the secretary finally gave up after travelling about 750 yards in two hours, and spent the night at the director's house. Actually, I quite enjoyed the company of the unexpected guest, and youngest son wasn't at all sorry to have an unplanned day off school. We learnt the next day that that one of the chaplains had to spend the night in a flood shelter in town.

Sitting here in the highest house in this part of the city, we were quite untouched by it at home. The children were already in when the rivers burst their banks, and it wasn't until I turned on the TV the next morning that I appreciated how lucky we were. Two people were killed locally when they were washed away, including a 14 year old child, and people were trapped on the upper floors of buildings or had to abandon their homes. We have even been spared the cycling power cuts as the electricity suppliers try to patch in areas affected by flooded sub-stations. I have followed events on Sheffield Forum and the BBC, feeling oddly detached. Sheffield Forum has come into its own, keeping people informed about emergency services, road closures, power supplies and school closures, and in addition acting as a hub for neighbourly help as those unaffected offer goods, services and a helping hand to the victims. It has also been a good source of amusement:Sheffield Wednesday's ground at Hillsborough turned into a swimming pool.

Today, Thursday, the roads are mostly open again and superficially there is an air of normality. But it will be a very long time before the damage is put right.

Between the two storms, I had surprise visitors when my cousin called to ask if we could put him, his wife and stepdaughter up for the night after his brakes failed on the A57. It was one of those quite unexpected delights that occasionally happen to break through the stress of day-to-day tedium. We walked down to the pub for some locally brewed real ale, and then had a really good meal in a local Indian restaurant, returning for another couple of drinks before heading home. It's a few years since we've really spent any time together, and I've not had the chance to get to know his wife before: we discovered much in common, and I hope we'll manage to keep in touch properly now.

Two days later, I delivered two lectures to the Cliff College Postgraduate Alumni Association. The other speaker was my undergraduate dissertation supervisor, whom I haven't seen since 1998, so it was a privilege to share the platform with him, though also quite terrifying. We discovered that our areas of interest overlap considerably, and there's probably scope for some joint work which would be good both for us as academics, and for our respective institutions between whom there has historically been some rivalry.

Tomorrow is St Peter's Day, and I'm looking forward to the arrival of another very welcome guest. June has brought water and guests in abundance - I wonder what July holds in store?

[The Wicker photo: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42424000/jpg/_42424522_wicker_sheff_getty_220.jpg]

Sporting ups and downs

An email from my public reminds me that it's well over a month since I last wrote, and I've been consulting my diary to see what excitements have pushed the passing of time so far from my mind. It's a little disappointing to discover that little more than normal domesticity and work have been the main occupations, and the most pressing and time-consuming task has been marking module essays and dissertations, and completing the mountain of paperwork to go with them. Actually, it was a good crop of results - five of my six MA students got a merit, and one of my dissertation students crowned her studies with a distinction.

Then on 14th May we had a lunch gathering at UTU to say goodbye to Janet, who has been Support Services Manager for 7 years. This photo shows the UTU holy trinity of Janet, Judith (the secretary) and Christine (the director). The blonde lady hiding in the background is Janet's replacement, Kate.The following day I managed to escape to spend a night away in a cute village B&B and a day with my lover sharing a date that for various reasons matters to us both. Getting back to teach for 6.30 should have been an easy trip, but a massive accident on the M1 added an hour and a half to the journey. Advance planning meant that I'd left the teaching materials ready, and the last half hour was punctuated by phone calls (bluetooth, of course) to the resident student giving instructions in case I was unable to be there on time. However, my guardian angel pulled out the stops, and I walked into UTU with two minutes to spare.

One highlight of the last few weeks was a Keith James concert at the Boardwalk with a dear friend and his colleague. I was introduced to the music of Nick Drake some years ago, and Keith does a marvellous job of making Drake's music his own without ever dishonouring it. I've seen two of his Nick Drake tribute concerts before, and this one was a very welcome break from a very stressed week.

The corresponding low came the following weekend, when youngest son and eldest son, both Sheffield United fans by birth and breeding, went to the last match of the season together. The fate of the club was in the balance: they needed at least a draw to be certain of avoiding relegation. If they lost, it would then depend on the result of the match between West Ham and Manchester United. In the event, Sheffield United lost and West Ham won. There was a palpable air of mourning as the two lads and Dan's girlfriend arrived back, and no amount of sympathy could lift their mood. I discovered then that "it's only a game" is not a helpful comment for a mother to make under such circumstances.

After an overnight in a hotel with my lover (champagne and strawberries - who says romance is dead?), my own interest in sport was better served by a day out at the National Schools Regatta just outside Nottingham, where a team from my old school were rowing. It was the best kind of outdoor fun - lots to watch, good sportsmanship and passion on the water and on the banks. I met up with an old friend who was coaching one of his school's teams, and both his team and the girls from my old school won first their heats, then their semis, then their finals. In between, we swigged champagne in his school's hospitality tent, and had some time together for a walk and chat.

Second youngest son has already finished his GCSEs in Egypt, and returns to the maternal hearth on Wednesday. Although it's only just past half term, it's already feeling as if we're winding down towards summer. On warm days I can teach in the UTU garden in the evenings, and there's already an end-of-year feeling in the air. Summer promises to be rather good this year, I think.