When does 50 millimetres become 2 inches? When a news reporter is trying to make something sound small.
Over the last few days the scum have been refering to the rainall in millimetres. Whereas I generally agree with metrication, I note that 50 milimetres sounds much more impressive to the average thickie than 5 centimetres. And therefore a better story.
(It has been widely noted that the British media report high temperatures in Farenheit and low ones in Celsius)
Over the past few days, highly paid, well known faces have been hanging around Gloucestershire, standing on bridges and filing their empty reports. Apart from the occasional freeloading helicopter trip this must be an immensly boring assignment. So last night you could cut the excitement with a knife as reporters managed to build up a non-story about the possibility if the power being cut off to a million homes (or was it 10 million?).
By the morning you could hear the distress in their voices as the hoped for tragedy potential had passed. In desparation they tried to big up the non-event by saying that the water came within 2 inches of breaking through. Now I do know that 2 inches sounds a lot less to the average thickie than 50 millimeters but I don't know how much water that two inches represents. A million gallons perhaps? Or more like 5 million litres?