With the clocks changing, the dry weather came to an abrupt end on the last day of October. What we were not prepared for, however, was the absolute deluge of rainfall which fell out of the sky on that morning.
The forecast had said a band of heavy rain was heading our way, but before we knew it, the road which passes our farm had turned into a river, the drains were unable to cope and the culverts were spilling over, flooding our fields and farm buildings.
It was quite incredible to watch the speed of how the flooding developed and be utterly powerless to do anything about it.
By 8am, the main cattle shed, which had only been strawed the previous day, was awash with a few inches of water. A group of cows and calves which had also only come in the previous day for the start of winter housing, took to the edges of the bedding area to try and keep dry, but before long all the shed floor was covered with flood water. It was a pretty disheartening sight.
Another group of cows which was still outside were looking shell-shocked as the water rushed between their legs and spewed through the hedge and into their field. We quickly brought them in to let them stand on a concrete area and take a bit of shelter.
The remaining cattle which were out on higher ground had to endure the torrent, as the sheds were becoming unusable.
Fortunately, our farmhouse escaped the flooding as the track which leads to the buildings diverted the water away. From the farm, however, we could could see the River Bride rising at an astonishing rate and then bursting its banks, flooding our neighbours' fields.
The village of Burton Bradstock, near the mouth of the river, was badly affected. Some people were not as fortunate as us and their houses were flooded.
No sooner had the heavy rainfall started than it was all over. Within the space of an hour, it was hard to believe it was the same day. The rest of the day was spent clearing out the soggy mess in straw cattle yards.
The sun and a drying wind helped our cause, as the cattle waited patiently on the concrete feeding areas, and by dark another fresh bed of straw had been laid. I've never seen cattle so keen to have a lie down.
Strangely, during the clean-up someone from Sky News messaged to ask if they could use a short video clip of the flood water I had posted on Twitter. It shows you that you never know who is watching.
Barring some wet looking stacks of straw and hay which had been lying in the water, and a sorry looking field of winter barley, you wouldn't have thought the morning's rain had happened.
Let us hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon, although perhaps our village name might have given us a clue. Long Bredy derives its name from Welsh and Cornish words meaning boiling stream. We were warned.
