There can only be one subject today—the terrible floods that befell Rhuthun/Ruthin this morning, especially at Glasdir. Instead of dwelling upon what everyone else is saying…
Up to last night, Glasdir was seen as outside, an appendage, somewhere slightly foreign, even unwelcome. No one wanted it built in the first place. There has always been suspicion as to incomer families moving in. No one wanted much to do with the place and those within never seemed properly assimilated, given the distance between estate and town. Glasdir seemed artificial, a new village rather than a suburb, randomly located or even dumped if not in the middle of nowhere then certainly in a strange and distant place.
Today, everyone wants to help. There have, for example, been three county councillors on site all day. And, yes, it started with some political grandstanding and rivalries; there were even acts of bravery or foolhardiness (depending upon your viewpoint) on their part. But councillors were there, alongside many others from the town, ordinary people looking on in helpless disbelief, some of whom were gawping but most came out of concern. Glasdir was suddenly the place to be seen. You might even argue that suddenly Glasdir has become accepted.
Or perhaps it’s expedient for some to do so.
The fact is, the only silver lining so far associated with this calamity has been the goodwill and magnanimity shown by everyone in Rhuthun towards what was once an ignored outlier development. It's fair to say that many in Rhuthun viewed Glasdir from an elitist standpoint: cheap, hemmed in housing, investment properties, a hig proportion of social housing, the threat of outsiders, the show homes minus doors to hoodwink the unwary into believing rooms were spacious.
The public outpouring of sympathy and the willingness to help have actually brought the estate and town closer together. In fact, today, Glasdir is far less of a detached estate but it is regarded as a body of *people* and one that is part of our community. It's a pity it took something of this nature for the rest of us to see Glasdir as it is but the fault there may not actually rest with us. I do wonder how long before it again becomes a forgotten locality.
- The tragedy of it all (one male resident to whom I spoke was fighting back tears);
- The "I told you so" stories (the sucking in of air as expert and non-expert alike commented that we all knew this might happen. After all, the land is known as "wet field")
- The speculation about exactly what did happen (were the defences strong enough?)
Today, everyone wants to help. There have, for example, been three county councillors on site all day. And, yes, it started with some political grandstanding and rivalries; there were even acts of bravery or foolhardiness (depending upon your viewpoint) on their part. But councillors were there, alongside many others from the town, ordinary people looking on in helpless disbelief, some of whom were gawping but most came out of concern. Glasdir was suddenly the place to be seen. You might even argue that suddenly Glasdir has become accepted.
Or perhaps it’s expedient for some to do so.
The fact is, the only silver lining so far associated with this calamity has been the goodwill and magnanimity shown by everyone in Rhuthun towards what was once an ignored outlier development. It's fair to say that many in Rhuthun viewed Glasdir from an elitist standpoint: cheap, hemmed in housing, investment properties, a hig proportion of social housing, the threat of outsiders, the show homes minus doors to hoodwink the unwary into believing rooms were spacious.
The public outpouring of sympathy and the willingness to help have actually brought the estate and town closer together. In fact, today, Glasdir is far less of a detached estate but it is regarded as a body of *people* and one that is part of our community. It's a pity it took something of this nature for the rest of us to see Glasdir as it is but the fault there may not actually rest with us. I do wonder how long before it again becomes a forgotten locality.