Big companies must now show compassion to flood victims

When our backs are against the wall, that's when the British usually show their best.

Well, now - with floods affecting so many people across whole swathes of the country - is one of those occasions.

And we hear heart-warming stories:

• Yorkshire farmers - who have donated animal feed and bedding to farmers in the south
• The army - inevitably doing a fantastic job
• Prince William and Prince Harry - lending a hand to pile up sandbags in Datchett
• Many neighbours and communities coming together to help others through the situation.

Let us hope that institutions that hold many of the keys will be similarly helpful. These would include:

• Water companies
• Electricity and gas suppliers
• Insurance companies

For once, show some compassion to people who need help, and don't just think of how you can turn other people's misfortune into profit.

Who knows, perhaps a kind deed or two might stand you in good stead.

Charity should begin at home for flood victims

It's tragic to read and hear about people who have been affected by the latest floods, mainly coastal this time. The same goes for previous flood victims - many not far from where I live in Surrey.

I hope that insurance companies can help them out - after all, this is just the kind of thing that we all pay into the insurance pot for.

Whether councils can or should do more to help victims or even take preventive measures, I don't know, but, again, I hope they are doing all they can to help people out.

What events like this in our country do bring to mind is the amount of money we often send abroad to victims of natural disasters. That is all very well and I wouldn't like to see that stopped, but do we ever send money to victims in our own country?

If not, we should do. Charity should begin at home.

Our thoughts remain with Australian flood victims

The continuing stories of the floods in Australia are an ongoing nightmare. The latest news is that residents of the south-eastern town of Kerang have been told to leave their homes, as the river continues to rise.

“You should ensure you have left your property immediately,” a State Emergency Service (SES) message told the 2,500 townspeople by text at 1920 GMT on Tuesday.

The day before a boy drowned in Victoria, and further north in Queensland more than 30 people have died as victims of the floods.

A 13-year-old boy became a national hero, but sadly died, when he insisted that rescue forces save his younger brother first, after the family car had been swept along by the floodwater.

The weather forecast says that there is more rain to come.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to Australia where the floods are said to be the country’s most expensive natural disaster.

It was the coldest December on record

We've arrived at the New Year and I've just heard that December was the coldest since records began in 1910 and the coldest month since February 1986. The average temperature last month was a bracing -1 C for the whole UK. No doubt some areas had an average a lot colder than that.

It makes the current 5 C in the south east seem positively balmy, although the wind-chill is making it seem colder.

Nevertheless, on we go into January with the days getting longer and promise of brighter, warmer things to come.

The weather is always a huge talking point in the UK, and it's probably the same in Australia right now, with the city of Rockhampton and the state of Queensland suffering from flooding. Let's hope it doesn't get any worse before it starts to get better.